State and Local Update
 
Advocacy matters, and here are a few highlights of positive advocacy work:

• This summer the Arizona Association for Gifted and Talented (AAGT) facilitated a successful school visit for U.S. Congressman Raúl Grijalva. Representative Grijalva is a senior Democratic member of the House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor.  Here is the video, press release, and a news article highlighting their Congressional visit. 
• The Connecticut Association for the Gifted (CAG) helped their state pass “the second gifted-focused law in three years.” “The new law requires schools to inform parents about not only the results of a student’s gifted-identification process, but also an explanation of how the student was identified.”
• The Massachusetts Association for Gifted Education (MAGE) has been equally busy working on five gifted education bills. 
• The New Jersey Association for Gifted Children (NJAGC) has been working to pass the Strengthening Gifted Education Act. This Act includes various provisions to support gifted and talented education such as multiple measures for identifying gifted and talented students.  Earlier this month the New Jersey Senate passed this legislation. 
• Looking toward the next legislative session, the Washington Coalition for Gifted Education is making universal screening their number one priority.

Javits Update

Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate appropriations committee proposed maintaining the current Javits education grant program funding at $12 million.  The U.S. House of Representatives education appropriations subcommittee proposed $4.4 billion in new funding for the United States Department of Education, and it included a $2 million increase in funding ($14 million) for the Javits gifted education program. 
 
Please continue to work with your Federal legislators to encourage them to support Javits funding in the final bicameral appropriations bill at the $14 million level proposed by the House.   

113th Congress

Update:  The Jacob Javits Gifted & Talented Students Education Act received $5 million for fiscal year 2014. Thanks in large part to Senate Appropriations Committee chair Barbara Mikulski (MD), this is the first time since fiscal year 2011 that the Javits program has received any funding. The Javits Act funds the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented as well as applied research on identifying and serving underrepresented gifted students. 

The next step will be for the U.S. Department of Education to develop guidelines for the grants made with these new funds, likely in late spring or early summer.

It's It is always important to introduce, or re-introduce ourselves to our Members of Congress and their staff , letting them know about the gifted students in their districts and states, and raising awareness of how federal legislation and funding can make a difference for them and for the nation.  Visit www.house.gov and www.senate.gov for email addresses and other contact information for your Members of Congress.  We have also posted a printable version of the Congressional Directory.  Consider making in-person visits to their district offices in the home state. 

Legislation expires at the end of each Congress if it is not enacted.  Therefore, NAGC's legislative initiatives must be renewed in the 113th Congress.  The House and Senate committees on education handle the majority of legislation most relevant to gifted education advocates.  Although it's important to reach out to all Members of Congress, we need to do even more with the men and women serving on these committees. Check the committee rosters to determine if your Members of Congress serve on them and if so, you know that it's especially important to begin early to develop a relationship with that office, and the staff person handling education issues. 


Contact: Megan Peters (megan.peters@tag-tenn.org)

Parents of gifted children are one of the most important advocacy groups when it comes to improving the educational experiences of the gifted. But it's difficult to accomplish change alone. Prufrock Press and the National Association for Gifted Children have teamed up to offer a free e-guide to starting a parent support group in your area. Check it out, and make sure to contact us if you are starting a parent group in Tennessee!