A new law requires Iowa school boards to have uniform guidelines in place for screening, identifying and serving gifted students before school starts in 2027.
The policy passed the Iowa House and Senate this spring with strong bipartisan support. Republican Representative Dan Gehlbach of Urbandale said it’s important to have consistent policies for students who perform at higher levels than their peers. “It helps make sure talent doesn’t slip through the cracks,” Gehlbach said. “…Too often access for gifted and talented kids depends on advocacy and this flips that and makes access the default.”
The law encourages schools to assess all K-12 students as prospects for talented and gifted opportunities, including those who are English Language Learners or participants in special education programming. “It ensures students who demonstrate advanced ability are identified early and more consistently,” Gehlbach said.
The law says Iowa schools must offer classes and other services that match the academic strengths and interests of a gifted and talented student. Gehlbach said the goal is to make sure talented and gifted students, regardless of their zip code, get opportunnities to excel. “This legislation brings consistency, clarity, and fairness to how we identify and support our most advanced learners,” Gehlbach said. “It removes those barriers, it standardizes expectations and ensures no student is overlooked.”
Representative Angela Ramirez, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, is among the 14 lawmakers who opposed the bill. Ramirez said state has a responsibility to ensure talented and gifted students have access to advanced courses, but she said once the law takes effect, schools may have to hire more teachers, transport more students between buildings or pay for more college-level classes. “Without dedicated funding to cover these anticipated expenses, I’m not confident that we can implement these changes effectively and successfully,” Ramirez said.
State education officials say for the past seven years, Iowa school districts have had $23 million in unspent funds for for talented and gifted student programs. The new law was proposed by the Iowa Department of Education, which found Iowa schools had a general lack of procedures for identifying talented and gifted students in early elementary grades. Last fall, Iowa schools reported over 41,000 students were classified as “gifted and talented.”