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Friends:

Below is a link to a news article that appeared in the magazine District Administration for school administrators this week concerning gifted programs in Boise and an excerpt from the article.

Margaret DeLacy

District Profile
A Need, Not a Perk
Independent School District of Boise City, Idaho

This district's high priority on gifted and talented programs has given students an edge--and helped the system combat shrinking enrollment
By Rebecca Sausner


....."When funding is limited, gifted programs are the last man hired, first man fired," says Joseph S. Renzulli, director of the federally funded National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented at the University of Connecticut. "A lot of our resources have gone into the kids that are struggling to catch up. I hate to wax philosophical, but this is placing the future of our economy in jeopardy."

In Boise, things are different. The district has served the needs of some gifted kids since the 1970s. In the past three years, those efforts have gone into overdrive. The district has added four classrooms for highly gifted kids (IQs of 145 and above) and 11 full-time classrooms for "regular" gifted kids, in addition to the established pullout program for gifted kids not accommodated by full-time classes. The additions were spurred by a combination of superintendent support and community demand. Amazingly, almost no new money has been spent.


开云体育 Kids, Saving a District

"What we've done is reconstitute other spending," says Superintendent Stan Olson. "There is an alignment of planetary will in the community, and leadership in the community," adds Olson, who previously helped formalize gifted programs in Kalamazoo, Mich. and Natrona County, Wyo. "My responsibility is to identify that and facilitate that."

To understand Boise's new attention to serving gifted kids is to understand the region's demographic changes. The urban district is shrinking; neighboring Meridian, a suburban system, last year became the largest district in the state.

In the face of this reality, Olson opened enrollment to students from outside the district. In 18 months Boise regained 600 of the 1,200 student decline over the previous four years. Many of those were gifted students.

So Olson doesn't view gifted programming as optional. "It has to be a staple of the continuum of services to both serve the children and keep the district viable and attractive," he says.

For his district, that means serving approximately 784 identified gifted students in grades K-6.

Friends:

Is one of the members of the Oregon State Legislature listed below your representative?

MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE:

Linda Flores, Chair, 503-986-1451 Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE.,
H-287, Salem, OR, 97301, Email: rep.lindaflores@...

John H Dallum, Vice-Chair, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1459 Capitol Address: 900
Court St NE H-289, Salem, OR, 97301, Email: rep.johndallum@...

Steve March, Vice-Chair, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1446, Capitol Address: 900
Court St. NE., H-385, Salem, OR, 97301, Email: rep.stevemarch@...

Debi Farr, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1414, Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE,
H-278, Salem,, OR, 97301, Email: rep.debifarr@...

John Lim, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1450, Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE
H-496, Salem, OR, 97301, Email: rep.johnlim@...

Arnie Roblan, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1409, Capitol Address: 900 Court St
NE, H-384, Salem,, OR, 97301, Email: rep.arnieroblan@...


If so, please call him or her and ask that HB 2954 be scheduled for a work session. The bill was pulled from its work session this week because there were so many bills going through the House Education Committee and if we don't remind legislators about it, it may slip through the cracks. A FEW CALLS WILL MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

You can remind them that this bill will increase accountability for a program that has until now been largely unaccountable and that there was a lot of concern expressed about the implementation of the TAG program in the state input sessions last spring, attended by hundreds of parents, teachers and administrators across the state.

Below is a previous message about this bill. You can keep your call very short--no need for lots of detail at this point.

Thank you,

Margaret DeLacy
OATAG government relations committee


House Bill 2954


HB 2954 was requested by Representative Flores to correct a problem that emerged in the most recent House Education Committee on January 24th., 2005. Both Salaam Noor, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, and Andrea Morgan, the TAG Program Specialist for the Oregon Department of Education explained to the committee members that they were unable to answer detailed questions concerning local implementation of TAG programs and services because they did not have access to District TAG plans.

This is because before we had a TAG mandate, Oregon had received a Federal Javits grantproviding money for distribution to local school districts and the Legislature wrote a law implementing the administration of these grants. This law said that a school district that wanted the money MIGHT send in information concerning its TAG programs and services. This information was required only from districts seeking a grant.

When the TAG mandate passed, it required every Oregon District to create written plans for identification and for programs and services. However, the previous law making it optional to submit those plans to the ODE was not changed or repealed. Even though every Oregon School District must now have written plans for identification of TAG students and for TAG programs
and services, there is still a law on the books that makes it optional for them to provide copies of these plans to the Oregon Department of Education.

The federal grant for TAG has expired and was not replaced. There is currently no state funding for TAG, so Districts do not have any reason to submit plans to obtain grants.

When this bill was drafted, the Legislative Counsel's office decided to change just two words in the existing law implementing the grants. They changed "Any" school district to "A" school district and "may" to "shall". Thus the law you see below you is the previous law with those two words changed and an implementation date added, and the bill would enact those changes.

However, because of the way the bill was drafted, it will continue to say what the old grant law said: that a school district shall submit to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for approval a written plan of instruction for Talented and Gifted children. As Representative March pointed out to me, this new wording not only requires that these plans be submitted, but also gives the ODE the power to approve them. This will make more work for the TAG specialist but will also enable the ODE to be more proactive in notifying Districts if their plans are not adequate to meet the requirements of the TAG mandate. Seeing all district plans will help the ODE specialists to target the advice and professional development they offer to districts more
appropriately. It will also make it possible for the ODE to provide more timely, comprehensive and accurate information concerning local implementation of TAG plans through the Oregon Report Card and other reports. The ODE is planning to fold TAG reporting into their Comprehensive District Planning Process (CIP) which is in development right now.

When the bill comes up for discussion before the Committee, I am sure that the wording that gives ODE the right of "approval" will be a topic of discussion.

In addition, I plan to request that districts be required to submit their written plans for identifying gifted students as well as for instructing them. This seems to have been overlooked in the draft. Districts are already required to have these written plans for identification, as well as for programs and services.

I have copied below a short explanation of the bill and the bill's text.


WHAT YOU CAN DO:

If your representative or senator sponsored or co-sponsored this bill, please take the time to say "thank you." It's important that they know that TAG parents are interested in their legislative activities.

If your representative is on the House Education Committee, please contact him or her and ask for a hearing on the bill and their support to pass it.

If you are a teacher, ask the OEA to support this bill.


HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES:

You can send an e-mail to any Oregon legislator by going to . When you enter your address, the computer will automatically match you with the correct legislators.

You can also send e-mail to "sen.johnsmith@..." or "rep.joansmith@..., substituting your own legislator's names, written as a single word, for "johnsmith" and "joansmith" after "sen." or "rep."

Contact information and legislators' websites can also be found by choosing "Senate" or "House" from the main menu at




About HB 2954 (by Margaret DeLacy)


What this bill does: Directs school districts to submit written District Plan of Instruction for Talented and Gifted (TAG) students to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Why is this bill needed? Before the TAG mandate passed in 1987, there was a Federal grant for TAG services that the Department of Education had available for distribution to school districts. The enabling legislation for this grant stated that "Any school district may submit to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for approval a written plan of instruction for talented and gifted children."

The TAG specialist needs copies of these plans in order to answer phone calls and questions from parents and from teachers, to work with districts to ensure that their plans are effective, to consult with advisory groups, to report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and to inform the legislature on the ways districts are providing TAG services.

As Districts are already legally required to have these plans, the only cost involved in submitting them would be a stamp (if they are mailed). If they are submitted online, there would be no cost. By enabling the Oregon TAG specialist to review the District plans, this bill would increase accountability, help districts avoid complaints, and improve education for
capable students.



HB 2954 TEXT

73rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2005 Regular Session

NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an amended section
is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within {
+ braces and plus signs + } .



Sponsored by Representative FLORES; Representatives AVAKIAN, DALTO,
DINGFELDER, FARR, GREENLICK, NOLAN, RILEY, ROSENBAUM, TOMEI, WHISNANT,
Senators MORRISETTE, C STARR, WALKER

SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is
not a part of the body thereof subject to consideration by the Legislative
Assembly. It is an editor's brief statement of the essential features of
the measure as introduced.

Requires school districts to submit written plan of instruction for
talented and gifted children to Superintendent of Public Instruction for
approval. Declares emergency, effective July 1, 2005.

A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to school districts; creating new provisions; amending ORS
343.397; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon: SECTION 1. ORS 343.397
is amended to read: 343.397. { - Any - } { + A + } school district { -
may - } { + shall + } submit to the Superintendent of Public Instruction
for approval a written plan of instruction for talented and gifted
children. The plan shall include, but not be
limited to: (1) A statement of school district policy on the education of
talented and gifted children; (2) An assessment of current special
programs and services
provided by the district for talented and gifted children; (3) A statement
of district goals for providing comprehensive special programs and services
and over what span of time the goals will be achieved; (4) A description
of the nature of the special programs and services which will be provided
to accomplish the goals; and (5) A plan for evaluating progress on the
district plan including each component program and service.

SECTION 2. { + The amendments to ORS 343.397 by section 1 of this 2005
Act first apply to the 2005-2006 academic year. + } SECTION 3. { + This
2005 Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 2005
Act takes effect July 1,
2005. + }

Friends:

HB 3129, a bill that required four years of English and three years of math while a student is in High School came up before the House Education Committee this afternoon at 1:00 P.M..

You can hear the full testimony via streaming audio on the Legislature's website at . You will have to download RealPlayer (a free download) if you don't already have it on your computer.

HB 3129 was the first bill heard.

Testifying in favor was Rep. John Lim. Representative Lim pointed out that most states have higher math and English than does Oregon and that there is no evidence that it will increase the number of dropouts.

Deborah Andrews and I testified against the bill. Ms. Andrews pointed out that there are many students who are not learning in public school and that the issue should be student learning and not additional requirements for classes that may not be serving student learning.

I pointed out that many students begin High School mathematics while still enrolled in Middle School and these students may have taken all available mathematics classes by the end of their second High School year. I added that if they had already exceeded benchmarks (approximately 15% of our High School population) or if they had completed a math class such as Calculus 1 I didn't think requiring an additional year of seat time would contribute to their learning. Some students skip ninth grade or want to graduate from High School early and this bill would prevent them from getting a diploma.

Pat Burk testified for the Oregon Department of Education. I am not sure whether he was testifying in favor or against the bill. He pointed out problems in implementation including a lack of math-certified High School teachers, doubt about the capacity of the education system to provide the two additional years of instruction, issues about the purchase of sufficient textbooks for every student, and a concern that if the number of credits required for graduation was not raised from 22 to 24, the required classes might displace electives including such courses as AP Mathematics.

Representative Lim said that he intends to provide amendments to the bill including a postponement of the implementation date and an "opt-out" provision, but none of the amendments is available yet.

The committee just held a public hearing today and did not take any action on the bill.

The new requirements are strongly supported by the Governor, so the bill is very likely to pass this session.

House Biull 2954 (TAG plans) has been postponed and will not be heard on Friday.

Senate Bill 300 (expanded options) comes up for a hearing in the Senate on Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 in Hearing Room D. It seems that the amendments recommended by the work committee won't be available until Wednesday morning.

Whether or not you support the bill, it would be very helpful to inform senators that there are students who need access to college-level curriculum before the age of 16.

If you are interested in testifying about this, please contact me.


Margaret DeLacy

Friends:

It appears that HB 2954 (the bill concerning submission of TAG plans to the ODE) has been taken off the agenda of the House Education Committee for Friday, April 8th. and will no receive a public hearing that day.

Margaret

Friends:

House Bill 2954 (requiring school districts to provide copies of their written TAG plans to the Oregon Department of Education) has been scheduled for a hearing and work session at 1:00 on April 8th in Hearing Room E

So far, there has not been any opposition to this bill, and the ODE supports it. I do not expect major problems, but those of you who can attend the session and show support for TAG programs are encouraged to attend and to testify. If you wish to testify, please keep your oral comments VERY brief. Allow some time for questions. You may provide written comments, but please bring plenty of copies along. You can also support this bill by calling members of the House Education Committee or your own representatives. If it makes it through the committee, it will go next to the full House for a vote.

There are two other bills that may be of interest to you coming up for hearings soon. OATAG has no position on them but both may affect TAG students.

Bills are appearing very quickly now: to learn what bills will be heard you can go to the "Committee Agendas" page on the Legislature's website at

House Bill 3129 will be heard on April 4th. in Hearing Room E. This bill requires every high school student to have four years of English and three years of math before graduating.

I am concerned that this bill will mean that TAG students who have completed all their High School requirements by the end of their junior year will be forced to remain for a fourth year merely in order to satisfy the English requirement. We may have students who take AP English or IB English their junior year and are then forced to go back and take an un-advanced English class their senior year.

In addition, every year we have a students who complete Calculus 1 by the end of their sophomore year. They may find themselves in a situation where no appropriate math class is available to them in the High School, but they have to have an additional "year" of math anyway. The requirement that they take math at an inappropriate level may prevent them from being able to schedule an advanced science class such as Physics. In general, I think it is not a good idea to define education solely in terms of "seat time" with no standards about the content of that time.

Senate Bill 300

This bill will receive a hearing and work session (i.e. vote) on April 6th at 3:00 in Hearing Room D.

This is the Expanded Options Bill written by Senator Gordly and would have created a program in Oregon somewhat similar to "Running Start" in Washington State. Running Start facilitates dual enrollment for High School students in college classes.

I have been participating as a parent, not as an OATAG representative, in the work group re-writing this bill. Yesterday morning, I was very hopeful that this bill would open new opportunities for Oregon TAG students. However the changes that were made yesterday will severely limit their chance to participate in these programs.

The bill originally applied only to students in their junior or senior years of High School or those who were over 16. We thought we had agreed on an appeal process for younger students. It was removed.

The bill originally had a cap of about 330 credit hours on the number of classes students in any one High School could participate in. Priority for participation was given to "at risk" students which we succeeded in defining as students who qualified for the federal free and reduced lunch program (since this is really a funding bill and they were most in need of the financial help).

The cap would permit about 9 students per High School of 1,000 to participate full-time (or more if they were part-time). The cap was due to sunset in 2009. The sunset has been eliminated, so the cap remains indefinitely. Perhaps some low-income TAG students would still be able to participate, but many TAG students would not.

Finally, and of most concern, the committee added a clause that appears to exempt all districts that already have any advanced options from being required to participate in the Expanded Options bill. The language of this clause is open to interpretation.

Other portions of the bill were in fact improved in committee but at this point, I am planning to testify and request major changes before the committee approves the bill.

Whether or not you support the bill, the hearing offers a chance to ask for an amendment creating an appeal process for students under 16. Those of you who have students who are not being adequately served in High School and would like to take college-level classes have an opportunity to educate the committee members about the problems they are having. Note that students would not have to leave the High School campus to take these dual-credit classes. Both distance learning programs and college-level classes taught in the High School building are included in the bill.

The bill does not provide new funding. It says that half the students' General Purpose Grant or an additional amount to be negotiated, would be provided to the post-secondary institution to cover costs. This is about $2300 per student. Public schools have funding from other sources than the General Purpose grant and so they would keep about $5000-6,000 per participating student.

It would be very helpful if you can share your personal stories with the committee members or come down ant testify at the hearing. Students who testify always receive a very careful hearing.

The actual text of this amended bill won't be available until early next week because the Legislative Counsel's office is still drafting them.


I am copying the names of the members of both committees below, followed by the text of the other two bills.

Margaret DeLacy

Questions? Call me at (503)-774-7017

*

MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE:

Linda Flores, Chair, 503-986-1451 Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE.,
H-287, Salem, OR, 97301, Email: rep.lindaflores@...

John H Dallum, Vice-Chair, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1459 Capitol Address: 900
Court St NE H-289, Salem, OR, 97301, Email: rep.johndallum@...

Steve March, Vice-Chair, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1446, Capitol Address: 900
Court St. NE., H-385, Salem, OR, 97301, Email: rep.stevemarch@...

Debi Farr, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1414, Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE,
H-278, Salem,, OR, 97301, Email: rep.debifarr@...

John Lim, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1450, Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE
H-496, Salem, OR, 97301, Email: rep.johnlim@...

Arnie Roblan, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1409, Capitol Address: 900 Court St
NE, H-384, Salem,, OR, 97301, Email: rep.arnieroblan@...

MEMBERS OF THE SENATE EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE COMMITTEE:

Vicki Walker (chair), Capitol Phone: 503-986-1707, Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-210, Email: sen.vickiwalker@...

Charles Starr, Vice-Chair, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1713, Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-312, Email: sen.charlesstarr@...

Ryan Deckert, Capitol Phone 503-986-1714, Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-219, Email: sen.ryandeckert@...

Jeff Kruse, Capitol Phone 503-986-1701, Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-215, Email: sen.jeffkruse@...

Bill Morrisette, Capitol Phone 503-986-1706, Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-306, Email: sen.billmorrisette@...

HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES:

You can send an e-mail to any Oregon legislator by going to . When you enter your address, the computer will automatically match you with the correct legislators.

You can also send e-mail to "sen.johnsmith@..." or "rep.joansmith@..., substituting your own legislator's names, written as a single word, for "johnsmith" and "joansmith" after "sen." or "rep."

Contact information and legislators' websites can also be found by choosing "Senate" or "House" from the main menu at



73rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2005 Regular Session

NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .

LC 3064

House Bill 2954

Sponsored by Representative FLORES; Representatives AVAKIAN,
DALTO, DINGFELDER, FARR, GREENLICK, NOLAN, RILEY, ROSENBAUM,
TOMEI, WHISNANT, Senators MORRISETTE, C STARR, WALKER


SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

Requires school districts to submit written plan of instruction
for talented and gifted children to Superintendent of Public
Instruction for approval.
Declares emergency, effective July 1, 2005.

A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to school districts; creating new provisions; amending
ORS 343.397; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 343.397 is amended to read:
343.397. { - Any - } { + A + } school district
{ - may - } { + shall + } submit to the Superintendent of
Public Instruction for approval a written plan of instruction for
talented and gifted children. The plan shall include, but not be
limited to:
(1) A statement of school district policy on the education of
talented and gifted children;
(2) An assessment of current special programs and services
provided by the district for talented and gifted children;
(3) A statement of district goals for providing comprehensive
special programs and services and over what span of time the
goals will be achieved;
(4) A description of the nature of the special programs and
services which will be provided to accomplish the goals; and
(5) A plan for evaluating progress on the district plan
including each component program and service.
SECTION 2. { + The amendments to ORS 343.397 by section 1 of
this 2005 Act first apply to the 2005-2006 academic year. + }
SECTION 3. { + This 2005 Act being necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency
is declared to exist, and this 2005 Act takes effect July 1,
2005. + }
----------








73rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2005 Regular Session

NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .

LC 2442

House Bill 3129

Sponsored by Representatives FLORES, LIM, Senators MONNES
ANDERSON, WALKER; Representatives AVAKIAN, BARKER, BARNHART,
BERGER, BEYER, BROWN, BUCKLEY, DALLUM, ESQUIVEL, FARR, GALIZIO,
GREENLICK, HOLVEY, HUNT, KITTS, KOMP, KRIEGER, KROPF,
MACPHERSON, MARCH, MERKLEY, OLSON, RILEY, ROBLAN, ROSENBAUM,
SCHAUFLER, G SMITH, SUMNER, THATCHER, TOMEI, WHISNANT, WITT,
Senators BROWN, GORDLY, JOHNSON, KRUSE, MORRISETTE, SCHRADER, C
STARR, VERGER, WESTLUND


SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

Requires student who receives diploma from school district to
complete three years of mathematics and four years of English
prior to high school graduation.

A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to high school graduation requirements; creating new
provisions; and amending ORS 332.114.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. { + In addition to meeting the requirements
established by the State Board of Education, each student who
receives a diploma from a school district shall, while in grades
9 through 12, complete at a minimum:
(1) Three years of mathematics; and
(2) Four years of English. + }
SECTION 2. ORS 332.114 is amended to read:
332.114. (1) A person who meets the requirements under
subsection (3) of this section may request a school district to
issue the person a high school diploma if the person resides
within the boundaries of the school district or is a resident of
this state and attended a high school of the school district.
(2) A representative of a deceased person who meets the
requirements under subsection (3) of this section may request a
school district to issue a high school diploma on behalf of the
deceased person if the deceased person resided within the
boundaries of the school district at the time of death or was a
resident of this state at the time of death and attended a high
school of the school district.
(3) Notwithstanding the requirements for a high school diploma
established { + under section 1 of this 2005 Act and + } by the
State Board of Education and school districts under ORS 329.447,
a school district that receives a request under subsection (1) or
(2) of this section shall issue a high school diploma to a person
if the person:

(a) Attended a high school before serving in the Armed Forces
of the United States;
(b) Did not graduate from a high school because the person was
serving in the Armed Forces of the United States at any time
between April 6, 1917, and November 11, 1918, between September
15, 1940, and December 31, 1946, or between June 25, 1950, and
January 31, 1955; and
(c) Was discharged or released under honorable conditions from
the Armed Forces of the United States.
SECTION 3. { + Section 1 of this 2005 Act and the amendments
to ORS 332.114 by section 2 of this 2005 Act apply to students
who receive a high school diploma from a school district on or
after July 1, 2006. + }

Friends:

Here are some Town Hall dates for metropolitan legislators. You can usually obtain information about Town Halls by
calling or e-mailing your legislators and asking to be put on their mailing list. Many legislators also list Town Halls
on their legislative websites. You can find these by going to the Legislative website, selecting "Senate" or "House" and
then choosing "Senator Information" or "Representative Information." If you don't know who your legislators are,
choose "find your legislator" on the right hand side of the main home page.



Politics is a lot more interesting (and fun) when you are better informed and know who's doing what!

Margaret

April 7
Representative Chuck Riley to host a Town Hall.
7:00 PM
Forest Grove, Details TBD.

April 7
Senator Charlie Ringo to host a Town Hall.
6:30 PM
Sunset High Schnool
13840 NW Cornell Rd, Beaverton
The focus will be on annexation and other city zoning problems.
April 13

Sen. Ginny Burdick and Rep. Larry Galizio
to host a Town Hall.
7:00 PM
Tigard Public Library Community Room
13500 SW Hall Blvd
Tigard, OR 97223
All residents are invited to attend and encouraged to participate.

April 13
State Representatives Mitch Greenlick (House District 33)
and Brad Avakian (House District 34) to host a Town Hall.
7:00 PM
Stoller Middle School 14141 NW Laidlaw Road Portland
This Town Hall will focus primarily on annexation, and the Representatives
will share steps they are taking to protect the communities of
Washington County from unilateral annexation. Constituents are
encouraged to come and bring their own ideas about annexation and
other topics of interest

April 20
Veterans and Soldiers Forum with Rep. Dave Hunt and
Rep. Scott Brunn.
7:00 PM
Tualatin Veteran's of Foreign Wars Post #3452
8455 SW Seneca St, Tualatin
Please join Representatives Hunt, Bruun and other legislators to dis
cuss education, employment, healthcare, housing, and transportation
issues affecting Oregon veterans, soldiers and their families.

April 27
Veterans and Soldiers Forum with Rep. Dave Hunt and
Rep. Scott Brunn.
7:00 PM
Willamette Falls Health Education Center
519 15th St, Oregon City

Friends:

The House Education committee held a hearing on SB 2954 (Districts to provide copies of their TAG plans) on March 23rd.
The hearing lasted about three minutes. Andrea Morgan from the Oregon Department of Education testified in favor of the bill and there were no opponents.

I apologize for providing the information after the fact but the truth is that it surprised me also. However, I am following up on plans for the
bill. So far, it looks good.

This would be a very good time to contact your legislator and ask him or her to support the bill. For more information on what the bill
does, or how to contact legislators, please go to

Margaret DeLacy

Friends:

Someone might want to follow up and find out just what Special Education cuts are planned.
TAG is now within Special Education.

One of the reasons I opposed this consolidation several years ago is that it makes it hard for
parents to track how the TAG budget is funded and staffed.

Margaret


"PPS Supt. proposes $375 million budget for 2005-06, cuts spending by $25 million
NEWS RELEASE Contact: Sarah Carlin Ames, 503-916-3212
Portland, OR - Superintendent Vicki Phillips Monday night proposed a
2005-06 budget for Portland Public Schools that cuts more than $25
million in spending, based on anticipated service reductions in the
state K-12 school budget for 2005-07 and loss of the local option
property taxes.

Superintendent Phillips said the budget challenged the school district
to make tough decisions as it focuses on its core education mission and
increases achievement for all students. "Despite our difficult
budget," she said, "we must make progress, for our students, for our
community and for our future."

As the school district began to develop the 2005-06 budget, the
Governor had proposed a $5.0 billion state K-12 budget that fell far
short of current services, creating a major shortfall for Portland
Public Schools. Due to the double majority requirement, the Portland
School Board reluctantly decided not to ask voters to renew the local
option property tax levy or the capital bond. That decision will lower
local property taxes significantly, but it brought PPS's projected
budget shortfall to $51 million.

Since then, PPS has realized millions more in savings from the PERS
liability refinancing. Further, the Legislature received a favorable
revenue forecast, increasing the chance of restoring state school
funding. Superintendent Phillips developed a budget based on a projected
State School Fund of $5.3 billion. The $375 million General Fund budget
includes $25 million of reductions ($16 million from school staffing, $9
million from central services), and draws down $9.3 million in
reserves.

The budget would cut school staff by 261 licensed FTE (full-time
equivalent positions) next year, with an additional 74 FTE reduction in
2006-07. The staff cuts stem from three factors: The drop in enrollment,
the end of the local option property tax, and the end of desegregation
funding. Under the new staff allocations, each school receives a small
core of administrative support, with the vast majority of staff assigned
based on student enrollment. Schools also receive staff based on the
number of children from low-income homes they serve.

The budget further reduces central services, for example: reducing
Outdoor School to three days, increasing fees for athletics, reducing
staff in ESL and Special Education, and freezing district health care
spending.

Despite the budget cuts, Superintendent Phillips maintained the
commitment to early childhood education, and an additional 11 schools
will offer full-day kindergarten at no cost to parents next fall.
More information is on-line at www.pps.k12.or.us, under "PPS Budget
2005-07."

Portland Public Schools serves almost 48,000 K-12 students in 100
schools. For more information on the district, call (503) 916-3304,
e-mail us at pubinfo@..., or visit www.pps.k12.or.us. Portland
Public Schools is an equal opportunity educator and employer."
_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 11:21:38 -0800
From: "ppscomms" <ppscomms@...>

As Superintendent Vicki Phillips prepares to present a 2005-06 budget to
the Portland School Board on Monday evening, she has started the community
conversation about the $35 million shortfall the school district faces, and
the difficult choices needed to balance the budget.

The school district faces the shortfall primarily because of two factors:
the cuts to K-12 services proposed for the state budget, now being
considered by the Legislature, and the end of the five-year local option
property tax levy that has supported schools.
Superintendent Phillips is developing a budget that continues the
district's emphasis on cutting administrative costs and working
efficiently, and which cuts almost $10 million in central services and
programs. The budget proposal may also eliminate more than 300 school staff
positions, while trying to assign teachers and other school staff to
preserve educational options for students and continue recent gains in
student achievement.
More information is on the Portland Public Schools website:
, under "PPS Budget, 2005-07"

Budget hearings will be held as follows:
· Wednesday, March 30, 6:30 p.m., Wilson High School, 1151 SW Vermont.
· Wednesday, April 6, 6:30 p.m., Madison High School, 2735 NE 82nd Avenue.
· Monday, April 11, 6:30 p.m., Blanchard Education Service Center, 501 N.
Dixon Street.

"This has been a challenging budget to craft. We have worked hard to
protect our core educational services - and to continue our drive for
greater student achievement - even in the face of significant budget
shortfalls," Superintendent Phillips said. "I look forward to the community
conversation about how we can best chart the course for our schools through
these difficult budget years and into the future."

EUGENE AREA PARENTS AND EDUCATORS

UO Youth Enrichment and Talented & Gifted Programs invites you to a lively
presentation by internationally recognized TAG expert:

Miraca Gross, Ph.D.

Friendships and Social Self-Esteem: Hidden Challenges of Growing Up Gifted

? Dr. Miraca Gross is Professor of Gifted Education and Director of the
Gifted Education Research, Resource and Information Centre at the
University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia (see
).

? Dr Gross has 22 years’ experience as a classroom teacher and school
administrator, including twelve years as a specialist teacher of gifted
and talented children.

? She holds MEd and PhD degrees in gifted education, and since 1987 has won
five
international research awards in the education and psychology of gifted
children.

? Miraca is well known for her research on many aspects of gifted
children's social
and emotional development, outcomes of acceleration and ability grouping,
underachievement, and the special needs of highly gifted students.

? Miraca's book “Exceptionally Gifted Children” (1993) which traced the
first 10
years of a longitudinal study of 60 highly gifted Australian children, has
become a
classic in the field of gifted education. The second edition, which follows the
young people into adulthood, was published in 2003 and has been greeted with
critical acclaim in Australia and internationally. Her most recent
contribution has
been as co-author of the 2005 special report on acceleration: A Nation
Deceived:
How Our Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students.

Monday, April 11, 2005
7:00-9:00 pm

No pre-registration required

UO Baker Downtown Center, 975 High Street, Eugene (Free Parking)
Suggested donation: $15 Individual, $5 per additional family member
Those needing to pay less or able to pay more are invited to do so.
Contributions
are tax deductible and will support summer programs for low-income TAG
students.

Contact: Marjorie DeBuse, 541-346-3084, 541-521-5215 or mdebuse@....

This information can also be found on the YE/TAG website at
.

Friends:

If you haven't participated in one of these conferences below, take a look at the website first. Once you have subscribed to the list, you will remain subscribed for the following conferences unless you unsubscribe. Unsubscribing is easy. This conference is free and will take place via e-mail over the next week or so. These conferences usually generate a lot of e-mail. You may want to set up a separate conference "folder" in your e-mail program or, if you have a Yahoo groups account, set your subscription to receive digests (this means that all messages are collected and posted once per day).

These conferences are usually more detailed and substantial than e-mail listserv discussions. I often save the messages for later use.

Margaret DeLacy

Our Gifted Online Conferences Presents
Dr. Sally M. Becker's Opening Statement to her conference is listed below.
Please fee free to join and invite other individuals whom you feel may have an
interest.

To join just send an email to
OGTOC-subscribe@...

Dr. Sally M. Becker writes in her Opening Statement:
Hello all! It is with great excitement and pleasure that I open this
conference! Just as it "takes a village to raise a child," so also
does it take an entire school community to educate a learner,
particularly in a differentiated manner. First and foremost the
community -- ALL stakeholders -- must TRULY believe that all students
are different and that these individual differences can and will be
met -- not always, but some of the time -- more of the time --
through "differentiation (D)." No teacher can make this change
alone. S/he needs the understanding and support of administrators,
peers, parents, and the learners. This is no easy task. The
PHILOSOPHY of differentiation is much more simple to espouse than to
practice. We ALL must "walk our talk!" Let's start today with a
definition of differentiation or differentiated instruction (DI).

Carol Tomlinson, international expert and spokesperson for
Differentiation (D), writes that: "Differentiating Instruction is
not an instructional strategy or a teaching model. It's a way of
thinking about teaching and learning that advocates beginning where
the learners are rather than with a prescribed plan of action which
ignores student readiness, interest, and learning profile." So let's
begin there, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Against all prior habit or
pattern, DI asks that we not look so much toward a specific action as
remain flexible; that we not so often plan for all as for small
groups; that we not so much teach the text or curriculum as we teach
the learner. DI takes into account the learners' readiness to learn
the content or skill, his/her interest level, and learning
preferences in order to engage the leaner. This is no small task.

Over the next six days we will explore ways in which it can, however,
be accomplished. Today let's concentrate on understanding the big
picture as well as the language -- the terms and educational jargon
that we will be using. Welcome to the exploration!
The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, March 22
Day One: Differentiation: A Philosophy
Wednesday, March 23
Day Two: Student Needs, Wants & Advocacy
Thursday, March 24
Day Three: Parent Needs, Wants & Advocacy
Friday, March 25
Day Four: Teacher Needs, Wants & Advocacy
Saturday, March 26
Day Five: Administrator Needs, Wants & Advocacy
Sunday, March 27
Day Six: Putting It All Together and Wrapping Up
Kind regards,
Sally_L
Conference Coordinator

Cc: "Margaret E. DeLacy" <mdelacy@...>
Subject: Fw: Co-author of Cog-AT to speak in Seattle on 3/24
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 06:43:47 -0800

Hello! Dr. David Lowman, co-author of the CogAT will be speaking in Seattle this Thursday, March 24. Here are the details.
JoAnn

Greetings,

Many of your associations sent representatives this past weekend to
Washington, DC, for the annual NAGC State Affiliate Conference. State
leaders made visits to Congress on Tuesday, March 15 in support of new
legislation and funding for the Javits program.

I am reporting to you on those items and am asking for your assistance with
Members of Congress:
(1) bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate to amend the
Higher Education Act (HEA) to expand the current teacher quality
enhancement grants program to be used to increase pre-service teacher
familiarity with the educational needs of gifted & talented students.
This is the same bill as was introduced in the Senate last Congress.

Our goal is to get as many cosponsors on the bills as possible in the next
month so that we can show the education committees (which are working on
the HEA this year) that we have sufficient support to include the g/t
language in the committee-drafted version of the HEA.

The bills are S.493, which was introduced by Senator Charles Grassley
(Iowa); cosponsors so far are Lott (MS); Cochran (MS), Bunning (KY) Johnson
(SD), and Lugar (IN)
H.R. 1156, introduced by Rep. Paul Gillmor (OH-5), cosponsors are Gallegly
(CA-24); we’ve heard back from state leaders (who walked the Hill on 3/15)
that several House offices will cosponsor
Copies of the bills (in .pdf format), and a summary of the bills are
available on the NAGC website at

(2) “dear colleague” letters are circulating in the House and Senate asking
for House and Senate “co-signers” on letters to the appropriations
committees requesting continued funding for the Javits program in fiscal
year 2006. (As you know, the Administration has requested $0 for the Javits
program in the 2006 budget).

The letters will be sent to the House and Senate appropriations committees
on slightly different schedules. WE NEED HOUSE co-signers BEFORE APRIL 7;
we have until April 30 for Senate co-signers.

Senator Grassley is circulating the letter in the Senate; Chris Dodd (CT)
is the lead democrat on that letter. Senator Johnson (SD) and Hutchison
(TX) are the only co-signers I know about in the Senate as of today.

Representative Elton Gallegly (CA-24) is coordinating the letter in the
House. As of today, I know of only Rep. Bobby Rush (IL-1) as a co-signer.


WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

(1) Ask your members to contact their Senators and Representative and urge
them to support the Javits Gifted & Talented Education program by
co-signing Senator Grassley’s letter [or Representative Gallegly’s letter]
to the appropriations committee asking for $12 million for the Javits
program in 2006.

The most powerful arguments regarding funding for the Javits program are:

· that the Javits program is the only federal program devoted to
researching how we identify and serve underserved gifted learners. AND, no
one else will conduct the research (because states and school districts do
not conduct research)

· that the Javits program funds the National Research Center on the Gifted
& Talented, which shares its research results with school districts so that
districts can better serve this population

· that the statewide grants awarded under the Javits program allow states
to build an infrastructure to support gifted learners (for example, by
training teachers, statewide)

If your state has a statewide grant, be sure to remind your Congressional
office that your state is currently benefiting from the Javits program. If
your state does NOT have a grant, the only way your state could get a
Javits grant is if the Congress continues funding the program. If your
school district is benefiting from research conducted by the NRC/GT, be
sure to include that in your message. That way, Congress sees that the
federal investment is making a difference.

(2) We need cosponsors for S.493 & H.R. 1156. Please ask your members to
contact their Senators and Representative asking them to cosponsor.

· The most powerful argument in favor of the legislation is that according
to the Nat’l Research Center on the Gifted & Talented, more than 60% of
teachers have not been trained to meet the educational needs of gifted
students.

· If there are limited (or no) university courses for undergraduate
preservice teachers in your state, you should be sure to let your Members
of Congress know that. Include other relevant local or state stories to
personalize your message.

Requests to your Senators should be specific: “please co-sponsor Senator
Grassley’s bill, which amends the Higher Education Act, to increase
preservice teachers’ exposure to the learning needs of gifted students.”
Also, ask your Senators to get back to you letting you know if they agreed
to cosponsor the bill.

Requests to your Representative should be the same message, but ask that
the Representative cosponsor Representative Gillmor’s bill, H.R. 1156.

WHEN AND BY WHAT MEANS YOU SHOULD ACT:

(1) The most urgent message is to make your contacts in the House of
Representatives regarding co-signing the funding letter before April 7.
Make your contacts in the Senate before April 30.
There is more time to contact Members of Congress on S.493 and H.R. 1156,
although the sooner we get cosponsors, the better.

(2) Congress is going into the Passover / Easter recess today, so although
you should be contacting offices as soon as possible, there will likely be
a delay in a staff member’s ability to tell you, definitively, whether or
not the Member of Congress can cosponsor the bill or co-sign the letter.
(don’t forget to request that they do let you know)

(3) When you make your contact, be sure to be specific about what you’re
requesting, and be sure to mention the Senator and Representative that is
sponsoring the bill or letter so that the staff knows what office to call
for more information.

Senator Charles Grassley’s office is the office for the Javits letter in
the Senate and for S.493
Representative Elton Gallegly (CA-24) is the office for the Javits letter
in the House.
Representative Paul Gillmor (OH-5) is the office for H.R. 1156

(4) The best way to communicate your request is through a letter that you
fax to each office. The second best way is to send an email.

In both cases, be sure to include your name and U.S. mailing address so
that the office can send you a response. If you’re sending an email, use
“gifted education” or “attention education staff” in the subject line so
that the email can be quickly routed to the education staff person to handle.

(5) Visit www.senate.gov and www.house.gov for the contact information for
your Members of Congress.

Thank you for your assistance and check back on the NAGC website to see a
current list of cosponsors and co-signers.

Jane Clarenbach

Summer Enrichment Program

The Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) at the University of Oregon in Eugene is a campus-based residential program offering stimulating academic experiences and spirited social activities designed for gifted and highly able students currently in grades 6-10.

for more information, go to

Margaret DeLacy

Friends:

Below is a link to a very interesting report that compares high performing, high poverty schools in Kentucky with other high poverty schools. The study came up with some surprises. Leadership, the use of technology, and sophisticated planning were found to have insignificant effects on the success of these schools. The curriculum used in the high-performing schools was very varied.

Among the factors that were found in the high performing schools was that students were constantly assessed and reassessed and then curriculum was matched to their assessments. In addition, high morale, a collaborative environment, high expectations, a respectful atmosphere and a focus on academics and student learning, were among the factors listed that contributed to the success of the high performing schools.

Margaret




Inside the Black Box of High-Performing, High-Poverty Schools
Patricia J. Kannapel and Stephen K. Clements, Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence
February 2005

Friends:

Below is a link to an article in the New York Times that appeared this week, and some excerpts.

Margaret



OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
Failing the Wrong Grades
By DIANE RAVITCH

Published: March 15, 2005

,,,,,

While the problems of low achievement and poor high-school graduation rates are clear, however, their solutions are not. The reformist governors, for example, want to require all students to take a college-preparatory curriculum and to meet more rigorous standards for graduation. These steps will very likely increase the dropout rate, not reduce it. To understand why, you have to consider what the high schools are dealing with. When American students arrive as freshmen, nearly 70 percent are reading below grade level. Equally large numbers are ill prepared in mathematics, science and history. ....

In addition, contrary to the philosophy of Mr. Gates's foundation, which has spent millions to create hundreds of small high schools with no more than 500 students, the report recommends that schools should have a minimum of 500 students. Larger schools provide better staff depth and stability - imagine how disruptive it is to a tiny high school if just a couple of teachers leave over the summer - and have a broader range of music, art, drama, debate and sports offerings. And research by Richard Ingersoll of the University of Pennsylvania has shown that small high schools are more likely than large ones to have out-of-field teachers - that is, teachers who have neither a major nor a minor in their subject.

Friends:

I am pleased to let you know that House Bill 2954 has been drafted. The text of the bill is copied below.

HB 2954 was requested by Representative Flores to correct a problem that emerged in the most recent House Education Committee on January 24th., 2005. Both Salaam Noor, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, and Andrea Morgan, the TAG Program Specialist for the Oregon Department of Education explained to the committee members that that they were unable to answer detailed questions concerning local implementation of TAG programs and services because they did not have access to District TAG plans.

This is because before we had a TAG mandate, Oregon had received a Federal Javits grant providing money for distribution to local school districts and the Legislature wrote a law implementing the administration of these grants. This law said that a school district that wanted the money MIGHT send in information concerning its TAG programs and services. This information was required only from districts seeking a grant.

When the TAG mandate passed, it required every Oregon District to create written plans for identification and for programs and services. However, the previous law making it optional to submit those plans to the ODE was not changed or repealed. Even though every Oregon School District must now have written plans for identification of TAG students and for TAG programs and services, there is still a law on the books that makes it optional for them to provide copies of these plans to the Oregon Department of Education.

The federal grant for TAG has expired and was not replaced. There is currently no state funding for TAG, so Districts do not have any reason to submit plans to obtain grants.

When this bill was drafted, the Legislative Counsel's office decided to change just two words in the existing law implementing the grants. They changed "Any" school district to "A" school district and "may" to "shall". Thus the law you see below you is the previous law with those two words changed and an implementation date added, and the bill would enact those changes.

However, because of the way the bill was drafted, it will continue to say what the old grant law said: that a school district shall submit to the Superintendent of
Public Instruction for approval a written plan of instruction for talented and gifted children. As Representative March pointed out to me, this new wording not only requires that these plans be submitted, but also gives the ODE the power to approve them. This will make more work for the TAG specialist but will also enable the ODE to be more proactive in notifying Districts if their plans are not adequate to meet the requirements of the TAG mandate. Seeing all district plans will help the ODE specialists to target the advice and professional development they offer to districts more appropriately. It will also make it possible for the ODE to provide more timely, comprehensive and accurate information concerning local implementation of TAG plans through the Oregon Report Card and other reports. The ODE is planning to fold TAG reporting into their Comprehensive District Planning Process (CIP) which is in development right now.

When the bill comes up for discussion before the Committee, I am sure that the wording that gives ODE the right of "approval" will be a topic of discussion.

In addition, I plan to request that districts be required to submit their written plans for identifying gifted students as well as for instructing them. This seems to have been overlooked in the draft. Districts are already required to have these written plans for identification, as well as for programs and services.

I have copied below a short explanation of the bill and the bill's text.


WHAT YOU CAN DO:

If your representative or senator sponsored or co-sponsored this bill, please take the time to say "thank you." It's important that they know that TAG parents are interested in their legislative activities.

If your representative is on the House Education Committee, please contact him or her and ask for a hearing on the bill and their support to pass it.

If you are a teacher, ask the OEA to support this bill.


HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES:

You can send an e-mail to any Oregon legislator by going to . When you enter your address, the computer will automatically match you with the correct legislators.

You can also send e-mail to "sen.johnsmith@..." or "rep.joansmith@..., substituting your own legislator's names, written as a single word, for "johnsmith" and "joansmith" after "sen." or "rep."

Contact information and legislators' websites can also be found by choosing "Senate" or "House" from the main menu at


MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE:

Linda Flores, Chair, 503-986-1451 Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., H-287, Salem, OR, 97301, Email: rep.lindaflores@...

John H Dallum, Vice-Chair, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1459 Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE H-289, Salem, OR, 97301, Email: rep.johndallum@...

Steve March, Vice-Chair, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1446, Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., H-385, Salem, OR, 97301, Email: rep.stevemarch@...

Debi Farr, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1414, Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-278, Salem,, OR, 97301, Email: rep.debifarr@...

John Lim, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1450, Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE H-496, Salem, OR, 97301, Email: rep.johnlim@...

Arnie Roblan, Capitol Phone: 503-986-1409, Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-384, Salem,, OR, 97301, Email: rep.arnieroblan@...


About HB 2954


What this bill does: Directs school districts to submit written District Plan of Instruction for Talented and Gifted (TAG) students to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Why is this bill needed? Before the TAG mandate passed in 1987, there was a Federal grant for TAG services that the Department of Education had available for distribution to school districts. The enabling legislation for this grant stated that "Any school district may submit to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for approval a written plan of instruction for talented and gifted children."


The TAG specialist needs copies of these plans in order to answer phone calls and questions from parents and from teachers, to work with districts to ensure that their plans are effective, to consult with advisory groups, to report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and to inform the legislature on the ways districts are providing TAG services.

As Districts are already legally required to have these plans, the only cost involved in submitting them would be a stamp (if they are mailed). If they are submitted online, there would be no cost. By enabling the Oregon TAG specialist to review the District plans, this bill would increase accountability, help districts avoid complaints, and improve education for capable students.



HB 2954 TEXT

73rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2005 Regular Session

NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within { + braces and plus signs + } .



Sponsored by Representative FLORES; Representatives AVAKIAN, DALTO, DINGFELDER, FARR, GREENLICK, NOLAN, RILEY, ROSENBAUM, TOMEI, WHISNANT, Senators MORRISETTE, C STARR, WALKER

SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's brief statement of the essential features of the measure as introduced.

Requires school districts to submit written plan of instruction for talented and gifted children to Superintendent of Public Instruction for approval. Declares emergency, effective July 1, 2005.

A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to school districts; creating new provisions; amending ORS 343.397; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon: SECTION 1. ORS 343.397 is amended to read: 343.397. { - Any - } { + A + } school district { - may - } { + shall + } submit to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for approval a written plan of instruction for talented and gifted children. The plan shall include, but not be
limited to: (1) A statement of school district policy on the education of talented and gifted children; (2) An assessment of current special programs and services
provided by the district for talented and gifted children; (3) A statement of district goals for providing comprehensive special programs and services and over what span of time the goals will be achieved; (4) A description of the nature of the special programs and services which will be provided to accomplish the goals; and (5) A plan for evaluating progress on the district plan including each component program and service.

SECTION 2. { + The amendments to ORS 343.397 by section 1 of this 2005 Act first apply to the 2005-2006 academic year. + } SECTION 3. { + This 2005 Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 2005 Act takes effect July 1,
2005. + }

Submitted by Margaret DeLacy, OATAG Government Relations Committee

Friends:

The "Education Soaring" summer camp has posted its summer program listing for classes for capable students in pre-k-ninth grade at . The classes will take place in the week of June 27-July 1 at Margaret Scott Elementary School
14700 NE Sacramento St. Portland, OR 97230 .


Margaret DeLacy