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Team Director:
Colleen Riley

Assistant Directors:
Kerry Haag
Jana Bradfield

1-800-203-9462
(Kansas Residents Only)
or
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Special Education Services
Web contact:
Evelyn Alden
(785)296-3868

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*Historical Perspective of Gifted Education in Kansas*
Historical Perspective Kansas has been an effective leader in the education of gifted students. In 1949, the Kansas legislature authorized special education for exceptional children. The legislature listed ten specific types of exceptionality, including “intellectually superior” children. School districts were encouraged to modify school curriculum and instruction for meeting the needs of gifted students. The Kansas State Board of Education in the fiscal year 1961 passed the first formal guidelines for gifted programs. In 1969, services were state mandated for the disabled/handicapped and in 1971 for the learning disabled. Guidelines for these mandates contained regulations that required comprehensive planning in all areas of exceptionality, including giftedness. During the 1974 legislative session, services for all program areas of exceptionality were mandated (Special Education for Exceptional Children Act, KSA 71-966); and a state plan was formulated outlining implementation procedures. The Kansas State Board of Education in fiscal year 1975 adopted this state plan, with gifted education identified as one area of service to exceptional children. After much planning, discussion, and written proposals, the 1978 legislature mandated the implementation of Gifted Education Services in the state of Kansas, effective July 1980. These services were to provide special education for all students identified as gifted at the elementary and secondary levels. For almost 50 years, the Kansas State Board of Education has recognized the importance of gifted education and has established guidelines for identifying students with giftedness and for licensing personnel who provide services to meet the individualized needs of these identified students. In 1977, the State Department developed a list of competencies that were to be met by those certified in education for the gifted. Several hundred teachers have been prepared through university programs to meet the special needs of these students. In-service and staff development for those teachers have been provided primarily through universities and local education agency personnel specializing in the education of gifted students. As of 2010, approximately 439 specialists in Kansas served approximately 13,888 students identified as “gifted.”

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