Notice to Parents
According to state and federal special education regulations, annual public notice to parents of children who reside within a School District is required regarding child find responsibilities. School Districts (SDs), intermediate units (IUs) and charter schools (CSs) are required to conduct child find activities for children who may be eligible for services via Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For additional information related to Section 504/Chapter 15 services, the parent may refer to Section 504, Chapter 15, and the Basic Education Circular entitled Implementation of Chapter 15. Also, School Districts are required to conduct child find activities for children who may be eligible for gifted services via 22 Pa Code Chapter 16. For additional information regarding gifted services, the parent may refer to 22 PA Code Chapter 16. If a student is both gifted and eligible for Special Education, the procedures in IDEA and Chapter 14 shall take precedence.

Notice of Services for Gifted Students
While gifted is not included as one of the disabilities categories under the IDEA 2004, the Pennsylvania State Board of Education's regulations as set forth in Chapter 16, Special Education for Gifted Students, provide that gifted students are considered to be children with exceptionalities and are in need of specially designed instruction.Under Chapter 16, each school district shall conduct public awareness activities to inform the public of gifted education services and programs and the manner by which to request these services and programs. These awareness activities shall be designed to reach parents of students enrolled in the public schools and parent of children not enrolled in public schools.

Screening
Chapter 16 requires that each school district shall adopt and use a system to locate and identify all students that are residents of the school district who are thought to be gifted and in need of specially designed instruction. Each school district shall determine the student's needs through a screening and evaluation process that meets the requirements of Chapter 16.

Gifted Multidisciplinary Evaluation
For students who are potentially gifted students, the district will take the following steps:

1. Conduct the Gifted Multidisciplinary Evaluation
2. Compile a Gifted Written Report
3. Convene a Gifted Individualized Education program team meeting to determine whether the student is gifted; and,
4. Develop a Gifted Individualized Education program if the student is a gifted student.

For students who are gifted and eligible for Special Education, it is not necessary for school districts to conduct separate screening and evaluations, develop separate IEPs, or use separate procedural safeguards processes to provide for a student's needs as both a gifted and eligible for special education.

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