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EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1600
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR NURRENBERN.
6926S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 162.720, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to testing
of gifted students.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 162.720, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 162.720, 2
to read as follows:3
162.720. 1. (1) This subdivision shall apply to all 1
school years ending before July 1, 2024. Where a sufficient 2
number of children are identified as gifted and their 3
development requires programs or services beyond the level 4
of those ordinarily provided in regular public school 5
programs, districts may establish special programs for such 6
gifted children. 7
(2) For school year 2024-25 and all subsequent school 8
years, if three percent or more of students enrolled in a 9
school district are identified as gifted and their 10
development requires programs or services beyond the level 11
of those ordinarily provided in regular public school 12
programs, the district shall establish a state-approved 13
gifted program for gifted children. 14
2. For school year 2024-25 and all subsequent school 15
years, any teacher providing gifted services to students in 16
districts with an average daily attendance of more than 17
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three hundred fifty students shall be certificated in gifted 18
education. In districts with an average daily attendance of 19
three hundred fifty students or fewer, any teacher providing 20
gifted services shall not be required to be certificated to 21
teach gifted education but such teacher shall annually 22
participate in at least six clock hours of professional 23
development focused on gifted services. The school district 24
shall pay for such professional development focused on 25
gifted services. 26
3. The state board of education shall determine 27
standards for such gifted programs and gifted services. 28
Approval of gifted programs shall be made by the state 29
department of elementary and secondary education based upon 30
project applications submitted at a time and in a form 31
determined by the department of elementary and secondary 32
education. 33
4. (1) For the 2027-28 school year and all subsequent 34
school years, each school district shall provide universal 35
screenings for all students at least once before the 36
beginning of grade three for the purpose of screening for 37
gifted students. Such screenings shall: 38
(a) Provide a body of current, valid, and reliable 39
evidence from a minimum of two areas including, but not 40
limited to: 41
a. General mental ability testing; 42
b. Academic achievement; 43
c. Creativity; 44
d. Reasoning; 45
e. Problem solving; 46
f. Parent, teacher, student, or self-referrals; and 47
g. Other evidence of gifts and talents; and 48
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(b) Be reviewed by a minimum of three staff members 49
trained in gifted education, administration, or assessment, 50
or a combination of such areas for a referral for formal 51
gifted assessment. 52
(2) No district shall identify a child as gifted based 53
solely on the child's participation in an advanced placement 54
course or international baccalaureate course. 55
(3) Districts shall identify a child as gifted only if 56
the child meets the definition of gifted children as 57
provided in section 162.675. 58
(4) A child's failure to meet criteria on a single 59
screening or assessment tool shall not prevent further data 60
collection or consideration for gifted identification of 61
such child. 62
5. [Any district with a gifted education program 63
approved under subsection 3 of this section] For the 2026-27 64
school year and all subsequent school years, each school 65
district shall have a policy, approved by the board of 66
education of the district, that establishes a process: 67
(1) For the universal screening of students for gifted 68
program selection; 69
(2) For providing annual notification to parents and 70
guardians of such screening process; 71
(3) For identifying students for the gifted program 72
and notifying parents and guardians of the criteria the 73
district uses for the identification of students for the 74
gifted program, provided that such criteria shall be guided 75
by recommendations from the advisory council on the 76
education of gifted and talented children established under 77
section 161.249 and the standards established by the state 78
board of education; and 79
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(4) That outlines the procedures and conditions under 80
which parents or guardians may request a review of the 81
decision that their child did not qualify to receive 82
services through the district's gifted education program. 83
6. School districts and school district employees 84
shall be immune from liability for any and all acts or 85
omissions relating to the decision that a child did not 86
qualify to receive services through the district's gifted 87
education program. 88
7. The department of elementary and secondary 89
education may promulgate all necessary rules and regulations 90
for the implementation and administration of this section. 91
Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in 92
section 536.010, that is created under the authority 93
delegated in this section shall become effective only if it 94
complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of 95
chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This 96
section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the 97
powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 98
536 to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove 99
and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, 100
then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed 101
or adopted after August 28, 2022, shall be invalid and void. 102
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