"New teachers will encounter gifted and talented students and it's important they know how to recognize them and how to help them succeed," Grassley said.
Grassley's bill provides an incentive through existing grant programs that would encourage states and teacher preparation programs to improve the knowledge of new teachers about the unique needs of gifted and talented students.
"Unfortunately, only one state currently requires classroom teachers to have coursework in gifted education," Grassley said. " If teachers aren't exposed to information about the needs of gifted students in their pre-service training, they may never acquire the necessary knowledge."
Current law gives grants directly to states to be used to reform state teacher preparation programs. In this case, the law allows the money to be used for seven different reforms. Grassley's legislation would allow another use of the money to encourage states to incorporate a focus on the learning needs of gifted and talented students. It would also allow states to use grant funds to create or expand new-teacher mentoring programs on the needs of gifted and talented students.
The Grassley bill also would add language to a section of the current law which provides funds to partnerships among teacher preparation institutions, schools of arts and sciences and high-need school districts to strengthen new teacher education. The current law allows these partnerships to use funds for preparing teachers to work with diverse populations. Grassley's bill would allow gifted and talented students to be included in the list of possible diverse populations.
Grassley has been the leading advocate for talented and gifted children in the U.S. Congress and has worked to ensure that they have access to the education needed to reach their full potential. Most recently, Grassley introduced legislation that would provide money to local school districts so that they can expand the availability of gifted education services. He also worked to expand the benefits available for gifted students through the No Child Left Behind Act.