Gifted Student Service Plan
Each formally identified student in the Green County school district has a gifted student service plan (GSSP). The plan is available for parent review. The GSSP includes the student's area(s) of identification, service options, and evidence that is on file to support identification.
Service Delivery Options may include:
Acceleration, AP and Honors Courses, Collaborative Teaching, Special Counseling, Differentiation, Online Courses, Enrichment, Independent Study, Mentorships, Resource Services, Seminars, Travel Study Options, Special Schools, Self-Contained Classroom
THE GIFTED STUDENT SERVICE PLAN (GSSP)
What is the Gifted Student Service Plan? A Gifted and Talented Student Services Plan (GSSP) is a yearly educational plan which matches a formally identified gifted student’s interests, needs and abilities to differentiated service options and serves as the communication vehicle between the parents and school personnel. The teacher providing the service option uses information in the GSSP related to the identified gifted students interests, needs and abilities to differentiate the curriculum and design extensions which will provide continuous progress for the student. The GSSP should not contain confidential information such as achievement test scores.
Why is a gifted student now required to have a GSSP? KRS 157.200 Exceptional Children and Youth includes within the definition of “exceptional child” a category of “exceptional students” identified as gifted and talented. A student might be identified as gifted in one or more of the following 5 categories: general intellectual, specific academic, creative thinking, leadership, and the visual/performing arts. 707 KAR 1:320 Individual education program, requires that Individual Education Programs be developed for all students included in KRS 157.200. For gifted student, the Individual Education Program is called a Gifted Students Services Plan (GSSP).
Who is required to have a GSSP? It is now mandatory for all students who have been formally identified as gifted in grades 4-12 in one or more categories to have a GSSP beginning in the fall of the 2001-2002 school year. School districts are responsible for assuring that each formally identified gifted student has a GSSP. A local district may decide if Primary Talent Pool students will also have a GSSP.
Is there an official GSSP form? There is not an official GSSP form and districts may design their own. 704 KAR 3:285 does require that information related to the interests, needs and abilities of an identified gifted student must be obtained from the student’s parent or guardian for inclusion in determining appropriate service options for each student.
What are differentiated service options? “Differentiated service options” means educational experiences which extend, replace, or supplement learning beyond the standard curriculum. The regulation states that local school districts shall implement multiple service delivery options with no single service option existing alone, district wide, or at any grade level. These service delivery options shall be differentiated to such a degree as to be consistent with the language and intent of KRS 157.200 (1) both grouping for instructional purposes, and multiple services options may include such alternatives as: various acceleration options, Advanced Placement and Honors Courses, collaborative teaching and consultation service, special counseling services, differentiated study experiences in the regular classroom, distance learning, enrichment services delivered in a pull-out classroom or other appropriate instructional setting, seminars, travel study options, special schools or self contained classrooms grades 4-12 only. The service option(s) assigned are intended to provide opportunities for continuous progress based on the identified gifted students’ needs, interests, and abilities. School-based councils are responsible for determining the services and curriculum offered in their building. It is very important that council members understand the various gifted service options allowed in the regulation and that there must be multiple service options at every grade level to be in compliance with 704KAR3:285. 12
May each school have its own committee and address only their students when writing the GSSP? The regulation states a school district or a school shall have a selection/placement committee made up of a gifted education coordinator or a gifted education teacher and representatives from classroom teachers, administrators, counselors, special education teachers and other appropriate personnel who follow district policies and procedures to formally identify and determine the level and type of service options for gifted students. Formal identification begins in the 4th grade so the majority of students needing formal identification will be those students going into 4th grade. However, formal identification can occur in any grade level 4-12. Once a student has been formally identified in one or more areas of giftedness, only yearly gifted services need to be assigned. Personnel responsible for the design and delivery of appropriate service options develop the GSSP and include parental input. Those persons writing the GSSP should have a knowledge of the interest, needs and abilities of the student and also which service option(s) would best provide the opportunity for continuous progress for that student.
What type of documentation do we need to keep if a student chooses not to participate in the service option? The committee should have documentation that an appropriate service option has been offered. A signature by the student and/or parent on the GSSP stating the student chooses not to participate in the service option provides a procedural safeguard for the school district.
What happens after the GSSP is completed? After formally identifying a student as gifted in one or more areas, the selection committee should use a parent inventory and other formal and informal documentation to assign a service option(s) and then fill out the student’s GSSP. It is very important to remember the purpose of the GSSP is to provide documentation of matching differentiated services to the identified gifted student’s interest, needs, and abilities. A gifted child’s strengths are his/her needs. After assigning the appropriate service option, copies should be sent to each teacher who will be providing the service(s), the parent or guardian, the principal of the school providing the service option, and a copy should be placed in the student’s record. The teacher assigned to provide the service option is responsible for differentiating the curriculum and providing extensions for each student in the class who has a GSSP.
Who should sign the GSSP? The GSSP should be signed by all persons filling out the form and the educator responsible for providing the service options. The student’s parent or guardian should be provided an opportunity to sign the form and the gifted student might also be asked to sign the GSSP.