It is the policy of the Seattle School Board that all students will be afforded the opportunity to reach their potential and graduate from high school ready for college, career, and life. Access to curriculum and opportunities, including access to the highly capable program, should not be determined by a student’s race, neighborhood, or eligibility for other services and shall not be treated as a limited resource.

As such, students in need of the highly capable program will have equitable access to academically challenging and appropriate services, in their neighborhood schools or in the schools to which they are admitted through the open enrollment process.

In order to develop the special abilities of each student, the district will offer a highly capable program that provides kindergarten through twelfth grade students who qualify for the program with access to basic education services that accelerate learning and enhance instruction. The framework for such services will encompass, but not be limited to, the following objectives:

1. Expansion of academic attainments and intellectual skills;
2. Stimulation of intellectual curiosity, independence, and responsibility;
3. Development of a positive attitude toward self and others; and
4. Development of originality and creativity.

The board will annually approve the district’s highly capable plan including: the number of students the district expects to serve by grade level; the district’s plan to identify and place students, including universal screening as required by law; a description of the highly capable program goals; a description of the services the program will offer; an instructional program description; a description of ongoing professional development for highly capable program and general education staff; program evaluation and fiscal report; and assurances that the district is legally compliant.

The information anticipated to be used for the district’s highly capable plan described above will be reported to the School Board with adequate description and early enough in the school year that the Board has an understanding of how services will be provided during the school year.

The Superintendent will establish procedures consistent with state guidelines for implementing universal referral, screening, assessment, identification, and placement of highly capable students. The procedures will include prioritizing equitable identification of low-income students; use of multiple objective criteria and multiple pathways universal screening for identification and placement decisions; use of local norms, unless more restrictive than national norms; and use of screening and assessment in the student’s native language (if available) or nonverbal assessment. The procedures will also align with Board Policy No. 0010, Instructional Philosophy, and Board Policy No. 0030, Ensuring Educational and Racial Equity.