GT Frequently Asked Questions

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Each November, the district will hold a parent information session to go over the identification process and service models. During November and December is our annual referral for testing. At this time, any parent, administrator, counselor, or teacher can refer the student for the identification process. This testing is for any student who is currently enrolled in Bastrop ISD and is not currently identified for gifted services. Once the referrals are closed, campuses will conduct the assessment process from January through March.

When you arrive in Bastrop ISD, please let the registrar know that your child previously received gifted services. You will need to provide documentation that the student was receiving services and what those services were. Also, you will need to provide any testing that was used in that placement decision or tests from nationally normed tests. These documents will be reviewed by the campus committee and then will either be placed in equivalent services to what they were previously receiving or the student will be asked to take the Bastrop ISD assessments during the upcoming window because the data provided was not equivalent to acceptance in our program.

Students may be referred by teachers and other district staff, parents, peers, community members or themselves.

No. To be referred is only one component in the identification process. Your referral is just your way of ensuring that your child’s performance is assessed during the screening process. Your referral form provides much needed qualitative data in the form of the Parent Rating scale. This is one of the pieces of information gathered during the identification process.

Students are identified through parent or teacher nominations.  After the nomination form is processed by the campus, parent information forms, teacher observation forms, and nationally-normed assessments for ability are administered.  The final performance results are reviewed by the district screening committee and recommendations for service eligibility are made.

No.  All students who meet the district criteria are eligible to participate in the GT program. There is no cap on the number of students.

Kindergarten students who are identified for services will begin receiving services by March 1 of their kindergarten year. 

Students identified during our annual identification process will begin services in March of the current school year. 

Transfer students who meet BISD criteria for services will begin receiving services immediately upon receiving written permission from the parent for the child to participate in the services.

No. Once a child is identified in the BISD Gifted and Talented Program, he/she remains in it throughout all grade levels, unless exited according to district procedures.

According to the BISD Gifted/Talented Program, GT and Honors teachers responsible for delivery of program services must have the minimum requirements of 30 clock hours of G/T professional development. In addition, these same teachers must complete six clock hours of update training annually related to G/T instruction, differentiation, or needs of gifted students.

A teacher of an AP course responsible for serving gifted students must have the minimum requirements of 30 clock hours of G/T professional development and the 6 hour annual update. Six of the required hours must be in Nature and Needs of the Gifted and six hours must be in Identification and Assessment of the Gifted. The additional 18 hours may be from instructional and differentiation strategies learned at an approved College Board AP/PreAP Institute. 

BISD has policies/procedures in place to address this issue. Students who need a temporary denial of services may request a furlough. Students who wish to exit the program permanently may do so by requesting exit procedures and submitting the appropriate document.