Unequal educational opportunities for gifted students: robbing Peter to pay Paul?

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Unequal educational opportunities for gifted students: robbing Peter to pay Paul?

If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre education performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. (1)

With these provocative words, the National Commission on Excellence in Education's seminal report, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, (2) gave birth to a plethora of reform reports aimed at reinvigorating the quality of American schools. (3) Previously, the Supreme Court's monumental decision in Brown v. Board of Education (4) served as the impetus to propel local and national leaders to take steps to ensure equal educational opportunities for all students by recognizing that "[t]oday, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments." (5)

Brown ushered in an era that has led to admirable, yet arguably incomplete, gains in equal educational opportunities for all children, most notably minorities, (6) females, (7) and students with disabilities. (8) However, despite the progress that has been made in the struggle for educational equality, many exceptional students are not being fully served. (9) A Nation at Risk cogently observed that "[o]ver half of the population of gifted students do not match their tested ability with comparable achievement in school." (10) The report further suggested that "most gifted students, for example, may need a curriculum enriched and accelerated beyond the needs of other students of high ability." (11)

Aside from commission reports and rhetoric, little has been done at either the federal or state level to offer appropriate programming for gifted and talented children's (12) educational needs. The poor state of gifted education is reflected in the fact that the most recent federal study on gifted students reports that states spent only two cents out of every one hundred dollars in education on programs for gifted students. (13) It is questionable whether educational leaders and policy makers have taken sufficient steps to meet the educational needs of gifted children.

This Article discusses various challenges in meeting the educational needs of gifted students. Part I provides a brief overview of educational perspectives on gifted students. Part II examines statutory developments in the United States dealing with the rights of gifted students. Part II focuses predominantly on the author's belief that the federal government must protect the educational rights of gifted students. The author recommends the passage of a bill enabling systematic protection of the educational rights of gifted children modeled after the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (14) (now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)). (15) Part III reviews the growing body of case law dealing with rights of gifted children. Part IV discusses various proposals aimed at providing equitable programming for gifted students.

I. THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF GIFTED STUDENTS

The subject of programming for gifted students is a contentious issue in America. In an egalitarian nation, where all are considered equal, (16) critics are reluctant to support special programming for gifted students because of the fear and suspicion that intellectualism (17) may lead to elitism. (18) On the other hand, there is the American ideal, most notably reflected in Brown, (19) Title IX, (20) and the IDEA, (21) of helping all to succeed and reach their full potential. (22) As noted in this Article, this ambivalence is far from resolved.

Regardless of one's attitude toward the subject of giftedness, research indicates that gifted students have unique educational needs and require special programs. (23) In addition, it is important to consider the value of gifted student programs, since many gifted children not only fail to succeed on their own, (24) but indeed may underachieve, (25) experience learning disabilities, (26) and drop out of school (27) because their potential is stifled by the traditional school curriculum. (28) Moreover, although data is typically not tracked consistently. (29) it indicates that gifted children from low income families, (30) minority families, or families living in urban areas (31) are in even greater need of programming than their middle-income peers because of the greater risk of failure, poor achievement, or underachievement. (32)

In response to various reports and commissions calling for educational excellence, there has been growing, (33) albeit far from unanimous, (34) support for programs for the gifted. The next section of this Article reviews the legislative history of programs for gifted students.

II. LEGISLATION ON GIFTED EDUCATION

A. Federal Legislation

1. Early History

It is well settled that students do not have a constitutionally protected right to receive an education (35) absent a con...

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