Referral Process

Adverse Impact (“adversely affects”)

Teams are required to determine whether a student’s intellectual giftedness adversely affects the student’s educational performance such that s/he needs the support of specially designed instruction or services beyond modification of the regular environment. When considering ways a student’s giftedness adversely affects performance, teams should consider if the student requires specially designed instruction in order to benefit from his/her education program. Per the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), “Gifted children may develop asynchronously: their minds are often ahead of their physical growth, and specific cognitive and social-emotional functions can develop unevenly."  As adverse effect applies broadly to educational performance, teams should consider both quantity and quality of impact in any/all related areas—academic, behavioral, emotional, and social.