National Policies/Provisions

The information below is a compilation of data collected from Delegates serving the WCGTC. If you think any of the information below is incorrect or outdated or you have new information to provide, please email headquarters@world-gifted.org with details. The documents are meant to be a sample of available resources and are not an endorsement by the WCGTC. English translations are provided through Google Translate.

CountryNational LegislationFunding AvailableNote
AlgeriaNoNoThe Algerian Association for the Gifted and Talented (AAGT) has developed a national strategy for the period (2016-2020), and some of the objectives have been materialized. Among the prospects of the AAGT is attention to the legislative aspect, demarcation of interest in the category of gifted people, and highlighting its position in achieving comprehensive development.
Australia No (See note) NoThe federal educational goals are equity and excellence for all students. At a national level, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) promotes the educational needs of gifted and talented students in its Student Diversity Advice. Teachers are encouraged to use the Australian Curriculum flexibly to meet the individual learning needs of gifted and talented students. Furthermore, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) teaching standards incorporate a minimum level of proficiency in student differentiation. Each of the eight state and territories implement the national educational goals through state-based gifted education policies or guidelines. The Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented (AAEGT) promotes the national gifted agenda through advocacy and projects such as Gifted Awareness Week Australia (GAW).
Canada
Updated 12/20/23
No – See note
Click here for more details on P.101-102
YesCanada has 10 provinces and 3 territories. Each province and territory have its own unique gifted education definition, policies and legislation.
ColombiaNo (See Note)NoMore information available here (Spanish version).
Denmark

Yes (See note)

 NoIn the Danish legislation gifted students are mentioned, as it says that all pupils have the right to get differentiated education according to their needs.
FranceNo 
Germany
Updated 11/29/23
No (See note) No

Legislation regarding academic education in schools takes place on the level of the 16 German States and not on the federal level. Information regarding Gifted Education in each of the 16 German States can be found in 16 so called „LänderSpecials“ (States specials). https://www.begabungslotse.de/glossar/laenderspecials

Information about the program „Leistung macht Schule“ is available at https://www.leistung-macht-schule.de/

Research information within the „Leistung macht Schule“ program at  https://www.lemas-forschung.de/

Hong Kong, ChinaClick Here YesFunding is available to the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education, as well as the Gifted Education Section of the Curriculum Development Institute of the Education Bureau, Government of HKSAR. Schools and NGOs do not have funding for gifted education.
IndiaClick hereYes

There are various schemes/programs for Gifted students funded by Government of India. Most of these schemes have national level tests or project assessments to short-list students for funding. There are government organizations like Office of Principal Scientific Adviser, Department of Science and Technology, University Grant Commissions which also funds researchers on project basis.

Details and links to these schemes are provided in the document linked in the column to the left.

IndonesiaClick here  
Israel YesThe gifted and outstanding division use government budget (Ministry of Education) and includes about $25 million per year for identification process and cultivation programs. In addition, we use external companies to assist in the implementation of some of the cultivation programs. These companies also fund part of the activity for students.
ItalyNoThe Italian school system has chosen total integration for more than 40 years, that is, to include all pupils in “normal” schools. The Italian school regulations are full of references that protect pupils with disabilities and specific learning disabilities. On the other hand, gifted pupils have always been “neglected” as they are not known and recognized in everyday school life. In the last seven years in Italy there are many associations of experts and parents who are dedicating time, attention, and services to gifted children and their families. The first specific school legislation for gifted students is very recent: ministerial note no. 562 of 3 April 2019. It highlights that gifted students are children with special educational needs, thus emphasizing the difficulties, rather than the potential and talents.
In addition, for over a year, the Ministry of Education has convened the major Italian giftedness experts to write guidelines to support gifted children in all Italian schools. This document should be ready in the coming months.
JapanNoIn January 2018, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has started a study group on future education in Japan, including gifted education. As of November 2019, the study session has been held eight times.
KenyaClick hereNo 
LebanonNoNo 
The NetherlandsNoYes 
New Zealand Click hereYes (See note)There are gifted financial awards available for students and teachers. Some student events are funded. All details are at https://gifted.tki.org.nz/.
A Network of Expertise called Gifted Aotearoa is also funded – https://www.giftedaotearoa.nz/
Limitations are around the amount of money given and who can apply. Gifted Aotearoa is open to all state funded school teachers from Year 1 to 13.
PalestineCurrently in DevelopmentNo 
ParaguayClick hereNo

Translation of relevant sections of legislation:

Presidency of the Republic of Paraguay
Ministry of Education and Culture
Decree Nr. 2837
which regulates the Law Nr. 5136 “Of Inclusive Education” from December 23, 2013.
Asuncion, December 22, 2014

Article 4: To ensure the access of all students with specific needs for educational support, all educational institutions be it public, private or private with allocated state funds, in different levels and modalities, will progressively include in their Institutional Educational Project, technical measures according to universal, national and local specifications emitted and regulated by the corresponding instance.
Article 5: According to what was disposed in Article 2 of Law 5136/2013, the specific concepts used in the present regulation have the following connotations:
a) Student with specific needs for educational support: Consider every student with specific needs for educational support that due to: physical, intellectual, auditory, visual and psychosocial disability, specific learning disorders, high intellectual abilities, late entry to the educational system, personal conditions or school history demands support or adjustments to reach the maximum possible development of their personal capacities.
d) High intellectual abilities: Consider that a student presents specific needs for educational support due to high intellectual abilities when they manipulate and relate in a simultaneous and efficacious manner multiple different cognitive resources, of logical, numerical, spatial, memory, verbal and creative ways, or stands out especially and in a extraordinary manner in handling one or several of them.

Article 22: Students with Specific Needs for Educational Support who have achieved the established objectives, will be promoted to the following grade and will obtain the certifications corresponding to their capacities and competencies, and their permanence in educational services must be guaranteed. Those who demonstrate curricular competencies that are superior to those corresponding to their age group, will be offered curricular options according to their level of abilities and knowledge.

Poland

Updated 12/20/23

YesNo

The currently applicable education laws indicate that a gifted student is considered a student with special educational needs. Poland has a history of recognizing the needs of gifted students. The Ministry of National Education oversees educational policies, and there are likely specific regulations pertaining to gifted education. Among them:

Ministry of National Education awards the Minister’s scholarship for significant achievements in science, art, or sports at the university level.
A thorough examination of the education system’s tasks underscores the importance of developing students’ abilities and individual predispositions for their future careers. It is essential for schools to align educational content with the evolving job market. The Polish education system at least theoretically acknowledges the need for continuous updates to curricula and teaching programs to stay current with changes in the modern world.

RomaniaNoNoThere was a project for a law in 2006/2007 but it is still not implemented in schools at a national level, and there is no methodology for its implementation. There was an attempt to create Centers for Excellence, which are in place but which really deal with children who participate in Olympiads in different domains at schools with no other opportunities for these children.
Saudi Arabia YesThe University of Jeddah (UJ) in Saudi Arabia has a leading role in developing unprecedented legislation and provisions for gifted education in higher educational institutions. As a result of such legislation, UJ has implemented the unique program of Attracting and Nurturing Gifted Youth, which aims to attract the school-identified gifted students, supporting them with specialized educational provisions, empowering them to pursue their talents during their study at UJ. UJ offers the first academic acceleration system in Saudi Arabian Universities, (i.e., content-based acceleration and grade-based acceleration) for high school graduates. Also, UJ offers a wide range of enrichments programs in different domains, which meets students’ needs and interests and accelerate their future.
Slovenia
  1. A chapter on gifted education was authored in a white paper about Education in the Republic of Slovenia in 2011. The chapter gives an analysis of EU and Slovenian gifted education context and suggest future directions for gifted education in Slovenia. The white paper may be accessed here.
  2. In 1999, The National Education Institute Slovenia authored a professional guideline for elementary and upper secondary schools for identifying and teaching gifted students. That report may be accessed here (English Translation). An updated version is currently under review.
SpainYes
  1. Scholarships and study grants are some of the instruments that contribute most effectively to making the principle of equal opportunities possible. For more than 20 years, there have been aids for specific programs complementary to the regulated education for students with a specific need for educational support associated with high intellectual abilities.
  2. For some time, professional have acknowledged the necessity of an adequate attention for the gifted and talented students, and the parents have shown the satisfaction of seeing it recognized from the higher instances of the corresponding legislation to the attention to their children’s special educational needs (Recommendation from the Europe Council) legislation that at all the times protects appropriate educational opportunities for the student body according to the Convention on the Right of the Child (1989), in art. 29, paragraph 1, in which it is established that the education of the child shall be guided to develop the personality, aptitudes, and the mental and physical capacity to the maximum of their possibilities.
  3.  The Organic Law of Education (at the level of the entire State) exists on the subject of gifted students from the appearance of the Royal Decree 696 / 1995. Since then, all the different Governments of the State, have followed taking into account these students. There are 17 autonomous communities which have competencies in education while maintaining the Organic Law of Education statewide.
    The Organic Law of Education (LOE), stated in Articles 76 and 77 (BOE, May 2006):

     

    • “It is the education authorities take the necessary measures to identify students with high intellectual capabilities and assess their needs early. Also it is their responsibility to take appropriate action plan for those needs.
    • after consultation with the Autonomous Communities, the rules for flexible duration of each stage of the education system for students with high intellectual abilities, regardless of their age.”
United KingdomNo (See Note)No (See Note)
Pending Update

United States of America

Updated 12/29/23

Click hereJacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education ProgramWhile the needs of gifted and talented students is noted in Federal law, there is not a mandate to serve gifted education. The decision on provisions and funding is at the discretion of each state.
Uruguay No No 
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