1975

Beginning in 1975, a committee of several members from Idaho (a state legislator, an administrator from the Idaho State Department of Education, and a community individual) attended a 10 day intensive training in North Carolina. Upon their return, they wrote the State Plan for Gifted Education in Idaho. The finance director was able to find funds to begin a few initial projects. Eight pilot districts were selected from the 36 districts that applied. These pilot districts were provided with funds, resources and assistance from the State Department of Education.

1976

In 1976, federal funding became available and Idaho received assistance. Project SAGE (Statewide Assistance for Gifted Education) was developed. Training centers were set up at universities and three resource centers were set up throughout the state. Lewiston Independent District #1 was the northern site. Meridian Joint District #2 was the south-central site and Idaho Falls District #91 was the eastern site. Teachers, administrators and parents were able to receive training and technical assistance. The federal funding and the state pilots were available for several years. After the money was no longer available, districts and schools used local or state money to keep programs alive.

ITAG

ITAG (Idaho-The Association for Gifted Education) was formed during this period as a chapter of the national organization, CEC (Council for Exceptional Children) which serves students with special needs at both ends of the spectrum. ITAG provided information, networking and training opportunities to teachers and administrators interested in providing improved services to gifted students.

1988-1993

In 1988, parents joined with ITAG to ask the legislature to pass a state statute that would mandate services for gifted students. After nearly four years of working with legislators, “the mandate” was passed in 1991 requiring appropriate education for gifted and talented students. State Statute §33-2003 took effect in July of 1993. The beginning of July 1993, Idaho had a state coordinator for gifted and talented education and an amended mandate for gifted and talented education and also $200,000 support money for training in gifted education. Parents also helped ITAG begin a parent chapter SAGE (Statewide Advocates for Gifted Education). During this period of time, ITAG merged with SAGE to become ITAG/SAGE.

1993

In 1993, as the mandate took effect, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jerry Evans, asked for $6 million dollars in his public school budget to fund the gifted and talented mandate as a direct service support to districts. A compromise was reached to allocate funding for indirect support via the State Department of Education (SDE). $200,000 annually was allocated for one FTE to be established as a Gifted and Talented Coordinator position in the SDE, and to allow that position to provide training and develop a resource library. The Gifted and Talented Coordinator began gathering data on the number of students identified and the services provided by districts. The goal was participation by every district in identifying students and developing services through a Gifted and Talented Service Plan.

1998

In 1998, the SDE was able to absorb the position of Gifted and Talented Coordinator and resource support into their yearly budget and FTE allocations. The legislature passed a $500,000 line item in the education budget that same year to provide a direct grant to districts, distributed on a proportional formula, which could be used for training in support of services for gifted students and also to train school districts in how to identify students. This grant provided training for teachers, administrators and parents, but did not provide money for services or programs.

1998-2007

From 1998 to 2007, the full-time coordinator position at the Idaho State Department of Education continued. Data gathered by the Gifted and Talented Coordinator showed that, at one time, 86% of districts had a plan in place to meet the intent of State Statute §33-2003. These plans outlined various strategies, some of which had little for no cost and some of which required general district funding. The number of students identified for services also rose during this period to a high of 6% statewide.

2007

In 2007, the legislature passed a bill which added funding for Advanced Learning Opportunities. This money allowed teachers to attend training in Advanced Placement, Pre-Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Tech Prep or Concurrent Enrollment. This funding extended services to older students as they reached high school and beyond and again provided money for teacher training only, with no funding for programs or services. The responsibilities of the FTE providing the Gifted and Talented Coordinator position were expanded to service the Advanced Learning Opportunities, no additional FTE allocation was added for this new responsibility.

1998-2010

From 1998 to 2010, the training grant continued and supported districts to become trained in how to implement State Statute §33-2003. A variety of strategies were used, often simultaneously, and included: in-class differentiation of curriculum content and depth; in-class differentiation of pace of learning; in-class/in-grade clustering; acceleration-both by grade skipping and subject acceleration; on-line offerings to meet acceleration, pace, depth and content goals; part-time “pull-out” programs that gathered intellectual peers together from ½ to one day per week; and full-time classrooms of intellectual peers in districts with populations to support such. All of these strategies except the last 3 were implemented with little or no additional funding beyond administrative support and training on how to use them.

2010-2011

In 2010-2011, the funding for the Gifted and Talented Training and Advanced Learning Opportunities was cut from the public schools budget as the state faced a severe decline in revenues during the “great recession.” In addition, the full FTE at the SDE serving gifted and talented and advanced learning opportunities was reduced to a ⅙ FTE position with no resource support funding.

2012

ITAG had a discussion about asking for the $500,000 training grant again with Peggy Wenner, the Gifted Education Coordinator at the State Department of Education. The ITAG Board decided to move away from CEC membership and towards membership in NAGC in order to align with national leadership in gifted education.

2013

In 2013 the number of Idaho school districts with a plan in place to provide services for gifted and talented students dropped to 47% from the high of 86%. In addition, less than 1% of students in Idaho were currently identified for gifted and talented services. ITAG withdraws from CEC, but remains involved in Winter Edufest and Edufest. Annual Meetings and GEM Award presentations are held in July at Edufest. ITAG becomes an Affiliate Member of NAGC.

2016

ITAG is wanting to reach members and increase membership through social media. The Lending Library is sold off to teachers around the state so the materials get in teachers’ hands. ITAG began funding scholarships to Edufest using a grant provided by the Edufest Executive Board. ITAG participates in the first Super Conference, sponsoring a speaker and gaining membership via registration at the conference. The proposed line item in the 2017 state budget for gifted services was $1 million, and was approved for identification and professional development only.

2017

ITAG reduces annual meetings of the board to four, held in January, April, July, and September. ITAG meets with Marcia Wall to discuss the future of Winter Edufest. ITAG receives the balance of Winter Edufest funds to hold for future professional development in Northern Idaho. A group of parents began working on a change in the law to allow early admittance to Kindergarten as allowed for in PreK, although no change was made in 2017. The gifted coordinator at the State Department of Education reported that the allocated funds from the 2016/2017 Education Budget are slow in being disbursed to districts. The money was available to all districts that had completed and submitted a 3 Year Plan to the State Department of Education. This money could still only be used for professional development, as per the 2017 budget approval.

2018-2019

The proposed line item in the 2018 state budget for gifted services is $1 million, and is allocated and approved for identification and professional development only. As of 2018, there were nearly 15,000 identified gifted students in Idaho. This number reflected the fact that only around 50% of districts in Idaho had developed a Three Year Plan, making the district eligible to receive funds for identification and professional development. However, the Gifted Coordinator at the State Department of Education reported that efforts to restart programs that were lost to funding lows 2008 are expanding, and districts reported the increased use of screeners for increased identification, and an increased focus on underrepresented populations with the addition of the use of local norms for identification. The 2019 budget proposals from the Governor and the Superintendent did not include any appropriations for gifted and talented education or professional development. The Gifted Coordinator position at the SDE remains at <1 FTE.

2020-2021

COVID hits the world in March and everything shuts down. ITAG has a year off, waiting to see how it all plays out. In 2021, ITAG slowly began to come back together after COVID, struggling with severely reduced membership and activity. Edufest returned to Boise State with a virtual platform and far fewer attendees to allow for distancing. ITAG continued its involvement with Edufest but with a different focus, offering free membership to those that wished to join. ITAG met with the Gifted Coordinator from SDE to discuss funding. ITAG applied for a year-long grant with a focus on teacher training.

2022

In January of 2022, ITAG began rebuilding with new leadership, a new website and a new plan for reaching gifted educators, with a focus on revenue building through professional development.