Building a Foundation for North Carolina's Gifted Students

Multi-Tiered Responsibility and Accountability for Educating Gifted Students

For twenty-five years North Carolina has been a leader in advocacy and legislation for providing an appropriate education for academically gifted students. In August 1996, the General Assembly passed new legislation which changed gifted education in the state. The law, Article 9B, created a multi-tiered system of responsibility and accountability for building a foundation for North Carolina's gifted children. All parts of the foundation — the State Board of Education, the Department of Public Instruction, the local board of education and its system's administration, teachers, parents, and the community — must work together to support the state's high-potential children. The students themselves have also been given responsibility for using the options and support available to them and for working to demonstrate successful performance.

Brief descriptions of the roles and responsibilities are given here. Questions and answers about Article 9B follow. Quotations from the law are indicated by italics with quotation marks.