The Texas Education Agency (TEA) lists Gifted/Talented as a special population, along with Dyslexia, English Language Learners, At Risk and Special Education programs. Visit TEA's GT webpage for state GT information and resources the Statewide Coordinator, Monica Brewer, recommends.

Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted and Talented Students

The Texas State Plan, revised in 2019, guides districts to accountability when it comes to serving gifted students. Through HB3, gifted programs must get to and maintain an accountability rating. For more information about the Texas State Plan, check out these resources:

• Gifted and Talented FAQs

• Texas Performance Standards Project

Guiding the office of Advanced Academics, the GT District Advisory Committee meets at least 4 times per year to discuss evaluation information, and advise on better GT services across the district. An end-of-year survey will be coming soon for families and staff.

The goal of Lubbock ISD's gifted and talented program is to provide services for children whose learning needs extend beyond the regular curriculum.

A gifted and talented student is one that "performs or shows the potential to perform at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment" in intellectual, creative, or artistic areas, leadership, or specific academic fields (TEA §29.121).

In Lubbock ISD, a student can qualify for gifted and talented services by meeting certain criteria based on a combination of evaluation sources, both quantitative metrics (ability and creativity tests) and qualitative (parent or teacher questionnaires). Your child might qualify for gifted and talented services if they:

• Have an unusually large vocabulary and/or complex sentence structure for their age

• Have advanced comprehension of word nuances, metaphors, and abstract ideas

• Enjoy solving problems, especially with numbers and puzzles

• Have a wide range of interests or an extreme focus on one area

• Have highly developed curiosity

• Have a keen and/or unusual sense of humor

• Have a desire to organize people or things through games or complex schemas

• Have a vivid imagination, possibly including imaginary playmates when in preschool

• Think in abstract, complex, logical, and insightful processes

Lubbock ISD runs an open referral window for Gifted and Talented Identification during the Fall semester.  Parents, teachers, and/or community members can refer students for identification using the form linked below. The window to refer students in grades 1-12 opens Monday, September 18th, and closes Friday, October 6th.  All referred students must undergo the complete GT assessment process.

Additionally, all students in grade 2 will take the CogAT universal screener to measure reasoning abilities in order to find students potentially requiring gifted/talented services. The window to administer the screener opens Monday, September 11, and closes Friday, October 6th.  Students who score at the threshold should be referred by the screener and undergo a complete GT evaluation following parent permission. 

Students who are identified to receive GT services should be placed in appropriate courses with GT-trained teachers prior to December 21st.

If the statements above describe your child, you can submit a referral form to your child's counselor for evaluation.