GIFTED AND ADVANCED PROGRAMS

SCREENING AND IDENTIFICATION PROCESS

Referrals Procedures for General Intellectual Aptitude

The identification process begins either through general screening procedures or through the referral of a student by a parent, teacher, school staff member, or community member. Students may also refer themselves. Students can be referred in all grades K-12 and at any time during the school year.

Referrals for ACE (Academically Challenging Education) services are accepted at any time. Referrals submitted fewer than 90 days prior to the last day of school may be carried over to the following school year. A student may not be referred for gifted program assessment more than once in a twelve-month period.

A referral form can be obtained using the links below or from the gifted education resource teacher at your child's school. When a referral form is received, the gifted education specialist sends a Referral Notification Form to the parents/guardians within five (5) instructional days to obtain parental permission for assessment when the referral is made by a Culpeper County Public Schools noncustodial adult. Upon receipt of written permission, the eligibility process begins and is completed within ninety (90) instructional days. Referrals must be received by January 5th.

CCPS Parent/Guardian Referral for GTE

CCPS Teacher/Professional Referral for GTE

CCPS Self-Referral Form for GTE

CCPS Community Referral Form for GTE

Identification And Placement Process

The Identification and Placement process in Culpeper County uses multiple criteria. An Identification and Placement Committee meeting will be held within 90 school days from the date that written parent permission is received to determine eligibility. The criteria evaluated in the gifted education identification process include the following:

Assessment of student products, portfolios, or performance.
Teacher evaluation and observations
Student Interview and/or classroom observations
Aptitude and achievement test scores
Student academic record

Because identification criteria and services vary greatly among localities, transfer students who have been receiving gifted education services in other school divisions do not automatically receive services in Culpeper County. The Gifted Education Resource Teacher will review the student's files, and Culpeper County's formal identification process will be initiated. In appropriate cases, data required for identification will be collected and combined with data from the student's previous school. When enrolling, please notify the school of the student's identification for services in another locality.

After a decision is made regarding the student's eligibility and placement, parents will be notified in writing. For ineligible students, the notification letter includes a notice of the right to appeal. The gifted specialist is available to meet with parents to explain the committee’s decision

Notification of Right to Appeal

Parents/guardians or school personnel who disagree with the decision of the Identification/Placement Committee may contact the school’s principal to set up a conference to review the decision. Contact must be made within ten (10) instructional days of notification of the decision made by the Identification/Placement Committee. If at the end of this meeting the appealing party still wishes to appeal the decision, s/he must request, in writing, the convening of the Culpeper County Schools’Appeal Committee. Such a written request is made to the gifted education program coordinator within five (5) instructional days from the conference with the principal. Upon receiving the written request for an appeal, the appeal process is initiated. The Culpeper County Schools’Appeal Committee will convene within forty-five (45) instructional days of the gifted education program coordinator receiving the written request for an appeal.