Updated 9/7/07

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Organization & Agency Contacts
Identification & Eligibility for Gifted Programs & Services
Gifted Program Options
State Laws, Regulations, & Legal Issues
Reports and Statistics
Summer Opportunities
Scholarships

 

FLORIDA EDUCATION STATUTES

(Laws established by the Legislature)

Title XLVIII - K-20 Education Code

Florida's "gifted mandate"  ----1003.01.1 Definitions  3)(a)  EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT.--The term "exceptional student" means any student who has been   determined eligible for a special program in accordance with rules of the State Board of Education. The term includes students who are gifted and students with disabilities who are mentally handicapped, speech and language impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, visually impaired, dual sensory impaired, physically impaired, emotionally handicapped, specific learning disabled, hospital and homebound, autistic, developmentally delayed children, ages birth through 5 years, or children with established conditions, ages birth through 2 years, with established conditions that are identified in State Board of Education rules pursuant to s.1003.21(1)(e).

1003.57  - Exceptional Student Instruction

1011.62 -  Funds for operation of schools  (e)2  the Guaranteed Allocation for exceptional students  (currently  includes state funding for gifted)
2.  For students identified as exceptional who do not have a matrix of services and students who are gifted in grades K through 8, there is created a guaranteed allocation to provide these students with a free appropriate public education, in accordance with s. 1001.42(4)(m) and rules of the State Board of Education, which shall be allocated annually to each school district in the amount provided in the General Appropriations Act. These funds shall be in addition to the funds appropriated on the basis of FTE student membership in the Florida Education Finance Program, and the amount allocated for each school district shall not be recalculated during the year. These funds shall be used to provide special education and related services for exceptional students and students who are gifted in grades K through 8.Beginning with the 2007-2008 fiscal year, a district's expenditure of funds from the guaranteed allocation for students in grades 9 through 12 who are gifted may not be greater than the amount expended during the 2006-2007 fiscal year for gifted students in grades 9 through 12.

FLORIDA'S ADMINISTRATIVE RULES GOVERNING EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT EDUCATION

(State Board of Education Rules which implement the statute & are developed by the Dept. of Education, with public input & voted on by the FL Board of Education (not the Legislature.)

DOE Technical Assistance Papers & Memos  (guidance provided to school districts)

Clarification of Service Delivery Models for Students who are Gifted (PDF Memo)
Development of Educational Plans for Students Who are Gifted
Acceleration of Gifted Students                                 
Services for Secondary Students Who Are Gifted     

Monitoring and Compliance  ESE Program Monitoring  

"In carrying out its roles of leadership, resource allocation, technical assistance, monitoring, and evaluation, the Bureau of Instructional Support and Community Services is required to examine and evaluate procedures, records, and programs of exceptional student education; provide information and assistance to school districts; and assist the districts in operating effectively and efficiently."

Due Process

Procedural Safeguards for Gifted

Summaries of Due Process Hearing in Exceptional Student Education    (not up to date)
Summary of Agency Orders  (not up to date)
 

Important OPPAGA Reports

Report No. 08-01 Florida’s Gifted

Report No. 95-45 Information Brief of Florida's K-12 Gifted Program (March 1996)
Report No. 96-06 Review of Florida's K-12 Gifted Program (September 1996)
Report No. 96-83 Review of the Exceptional Student Education Program (April 1997)  

Review of Florida's Education Funding System - 1996
Report No. 95-50 Florida's Education Funding System (April 1996)
Report No. 95-43 Florida's Education Finance System Compared to Other States (March 1996)