Board approves 2025–28 gifted plan after lengthy debate over LEAP, race-neutral identification
Summary
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education voted unanimously to approve the district’s Academically and Intellectually Gifted plan for 2025–2028 after staff outlined state-driven changes and board members debated identification methods and LEAP’s scope.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education voted unanimously to approve the district’s Academically and Intellectually Gifted plan for 2025–2028 after a multi-hour presentation and extended board discussion about identification, program intent and equity.
The plan and debate: district staff described a three-year continuous improvement plan the district must submit to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NC DPI). Staff said the plan requires changes to comply with state guidance, including removing race and gender from certain identification pools and using race‑neutral processes. The presenter said the district will “make all identification race and gender neutral” and will end the LEAP deferment option, citing concern that deferments create gaps in students’ math trajectories.
Why it matters: Board members and community speakers debated how to identify gifted students in a way that reaches historically underidentified groups while complying with state guidance. LEAP — the district’s self-contained program for students with severe and profound advanced-learning needs — drew particular attention. Staff said LEAP will be returned to its original intent as a program for students who meet a technical aptitude cut point of 145 and that the district will explore MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Support) and qualitative indices to identify students earlier and more fairly.
What staff presented: Kate (staff member leading the review) described the 85‑page plan and said the Department of Public Instruction asks districts to revise identification processes. Staff listed planned changes: increased talent-identification training for school-based specialists, continued universal screening in third grade and rescreening in fifth grade, more direct identification in grades 6–12, and ending an option that had allowed students to defer LEAP placement for an extended period. Nick Winstead, the district’s lead gifted specialist, said universal screening and the “top 10% of each student group” referral pool had helped schools surface students who otherwise would not have been nominated.
Board discussion: board members pressed staff on bias and the trade-offs of qualitative versus quantitative measures. Several trustees said the district should keep pathways open for students not placed in LEAP, and staff reiterated that identification does not close access to advanced coursework. One board member asked whether the plan would be a permanent shift; staff said the plan is on a continuous-improvement cycle and can be adjusted over the next three years.
Formal action: the board voted to approve the academically/intellectually gifted plan for 2025–2028. The motion passed on a voice vote; the record shows the motion was moved and seconded and the chair called the ayes, and the clerk reported the motion passed unanimously. Staff said they will return with financial implications and implementation details during the first year of the plan’s cycle.
Ending: The board approved the plan so the district can submit it to NC DPI. Board members said they expect continued conversation about implementation details, training and how the district will monitor identification and services in the coming years.
