Education Funding Report Roundup

Gifted Education

By Debra Viadero — November 17, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Even though 32 states require schools to offer gifted and talented education, just under half of all states provided no funding for such programs over the past school year, according to a new report.

It finds that, in most states, the financial burden for supporting gifted education falls on districts. But, even among the states that help foot the bill for such programs, the 47-state survey shows, state-level financial support varied from $2 a student to $750 a student over the 2008-09 school year.

The report also notes that only five states require classroom teachers to receive some preparation for instructing intellectually gifted students before joining the profession. Just 20 states require teachers of gifted students to earn a specialized certificate in that field.

Ann Robinson, the president of the National Association for Gifted Children and the director of the Center for Gifted Education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said the findings suggest the need for a “comprehensive national gifted and talented education policy in which federal, state, and local districts work together” to serve the needs of the brightest students.

Released last week, the biennial report was prepared by the association in conjunction with the Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted.

A version of this article appeared in the November 18, 2009 edition of Education Week as Gifted Education

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Funding States Are Pulling Back on K-12 Spending. How Hard Will Schools Get Hit?
Some states are trimming education investments as financial forecasts suggest boom times may be over.
6 min read
Collage illustration of California state house and U.S. currency background.
F. Sheehan for Education Week / Getty
Education Funding Using AI to Guide School Funding: 4 Takeaways
One state is using AI to help guide school funding decisions. Will others follow?
5 min read
 Illustration of a robot hand drawing a graph line leading to budget and finalcial spending.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding A State Uses AI to Determine School Funding. Is This the Future or a Cautionary Tale?
Nevada reworked its funding formula hoping to target extra aid to students most in need. What happened could hold lessons for other states.
13 min read
Illustration of robotic hand putting coins into jar.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Education Funding How States Are Rethinking Where School Funding Should Go
There's constant debate over the best way to allocate state money to schools. Here are some ways states are reworking their school funding.
7 min read
Conceptual illustration of tiny people is planning the personal budget, accounting, analysis.
Muhamad Chabibalwi/iStock/Getty