Yet, there is no national law in regards to the educational rights of gifted children. How is this even possible?
Individual states are left to determine how to serve this population. Albeit a small population, but no less important, in my opinion, than any other "special group".
Individual states are left to determine whether or not they are going to even provide services or testing.
And further more, individual states and sometimes towns and counties get to define what gifted means.
How is this fair and non-discriminatory?
Currently 28 states are seen as "gifted child friendly" and provide state funding and testing and have laws mandating such. So what about the other 32 states?
The National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) has a map on their web-site that gives a break down state by state of the services available and highlights "good" states versus "bad" states. http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=37
So what is one to do if you don't live in a "gifted friendly state" and you are raising a gifted child? Pick up and move to another state? Hope to find another job in another state? Leave your family behind when you move to another state? But wouldn't this be an unfair burden, not only to the family, but also to the state all of these children migrate to?
I can't help but ponder these things and wonder about my son's future. Am I doing him justice by sending him to our public school; in a state with no gifted education mandates, and hoping for the best? Is this really what we want for our children with high IQs? We cannot assume that just because they have a high IQ that everything will work out for them, that they will excel no matter what happens. Time and time again, this has been proved to be a mistake.
Perhaps I should quit my job and home school him. But then that wouldn't work, we need my paycheck right now... what is a mom to do?
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