5240: Early Access, Acceleration and Grade Skipping

District Policy 5240 

EARLY ACCESS, ACCELERATION AND GRADE SKIPPING

1.0       Acceleration. The District recognizes that some children may benefit academically, socially and/or emotionally from accelerating and/or grade skipping. Students may be accelerated in District academic programs as provided in this policy.

2.0       Early Access to Kindergarten or First Grade for Highly Advanced Gifted Children. The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) states that “highly advanced gifted child” means a gifted child whose body of evidence demonstrates a profile of exceptional ability or potential compared to same-age gifted children. To meet the needs of highly advanced development, early access to educational services may be considered as a special provision. “Early Access” means early entrance to kindergarten or first grade for highly advanced gifted children under age six. Early Access shall not be an acceleration pattern recommended for the majority of age 4 or age 5 gifted children who will benefit from preschool gifted programming that responds to their strength area. The purpose of early access is to identify and serve the few highly advanced gifted children who require comprehensive academic acceleration.

2.1       Criteria: Identification will be based on best practices for identifying gifted learners in accordance with CDE guidance and will include a body of evidence to determine a child's need for Early Access. Only “highly advanced gifted learners”, those in the top 1- 2% of the population, are considered for Early Access to Kindergarten or first grade. These children score at the 97th percentile or higher compared to other gifted children in all areas of academic achievement (reading, writing, and math), reasoning ability, performance, and motivation.

2.2       Procedures: The following procedures will be followed to determine whether a highly advanced gifted child who is age four (4) by October 1 may be enrolled in kindergarten (prior to the age requirement in District Policy 5230), or age five by October 1 may be enrolled in first grade.

2.2.1    A parent/guardian residing within District boundaries initiates the evaluation process by submitting an application and portfolio to the Advanced Academic & Gifted Services (AAGS) Department between January 3 and April 1 of the school year prior to which fall enrollment is desired. No applications will be considered beyond April 1. The District may consider outside testing results. Applicants who wish to be considered for the 2nd round of choice must submit a completed Early Access application by the April 1 deadline and complete a choice application by March 31 as outlined in District Policy 5260.

2.2.2    Applications can be found at the District’s Educational Support Center (ESC) and online. Completed applications consist of the following items:

2.2.2.1    Early Access application;

2.2.2.2    Early Access Surveys completed by parent/guardian;

2.2.2.3    Early Access Survey completed by early childhood Educator; and

2.2.2.4    Performance evidence including work samples.

2.2.3    All applications will have a Level 1 review. Based on the results of the Level 1 review, some applicants will move to Level 2 assessments. Based on the results of the Level 2 assessments, some applicants will move to Level 3 assessments and a review of the full body of evidence by a designated review committee. Parents/guardians will be notified at each Level of the process.

2.2.3.1    Level 1: Review of application portfolio, including rating scales, surveys, and performance evidence;

2.2.3.2    Level 2: Academic Skills: reading, writing, and mathematics; and

2.2.3.3    Level 3: Reasoning Ability: cognitive assessment

2.3       The determination team will review the full body of evidence to determine whether the child qualifies to be enrolled in kindergarten or first grade in accordance with this policy, the District’s Early Access Program Plan, and CDE criteria, which consist of scoring at the 97th percentile or higher in all categories. 

2.3.1    A copy of the final assessment summary will be sent to families within sixty (60) calendar days of the completion of all assessments. The AAGS Department will also retain a copy of the final assessment summary. 

2.3.2    Parents/guardians will have thirty (30) calendar days after receipt of the final assessment summary to express disagreement with the decision to the AAGS Director. The AAGS Director will review the parent/guardian concerns and the data and then determine if the decision should be reconsidered. The AAGS Director shall issue a decision within ten (10) school days, absent extenuating circumstances. The decision of the AAGS Director shall be final.

2.4       For any student whom the District determines qualifies for early access and enrolls in school, an Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) will be completed by September 30 of the first year of enrollment (Kindergarten or first grade as appropriate). Progress of the student granted early access will be monitored every five (5) weeks during the first year of enrollment.

3.0       Acceleration/Grade Skipping Grades K-8. Acceleration and/or grade skipping in grades K-8 shall be based upon the professional judgment of a review committee whose composition will be the child’s classroom teacher, the GT building coordinator, the school principal, the parents/guardians, and any other school personnel the school principal deems appropriate.

3.1       The following procedures will be followed to determine whether a student in grades K-8 shall be accelerated in their academic program:

3.1.1    A parent/guardian, teacher or student may initiate the evaluation process by submitting a written request for review to the building principal. The principal may also initiate a review following a referral by a staff member. The principal shall gather relevant data and meet with the student’s parent/guardian to discuss whether the child is likely to qualify as gifted/talented following formal evaluation. If both parent/guardian and principal agree that formal evaluation is warranted, the principal or gifted and talented building coordinator will contact the AAGS Department at the District to obtain the Iowa Acceleration Scale (IAS) to begin organizing the student’s data.

3.1.2    The building coordinator and/or principal will work with the parents/guardians and classroom teacher to complete the IAS on the student in consideration.

3.1.3    The review committee, consisting of principal, gifted and talented building coordinator, parents/guardians, teacher, and AAGS Director or his/her designee will meet to review the data and determine if the child is a good candidate for acceleration.

3.1.4    The review committee shall consider the following criteria:

2.1.4.1 Academic achievement – The child is functioning above grade level in most academic areas;

3.1.4.2 Attendance – The child has a history of strong, regular attendance.

3.1.4.3 Attitude toward acceleration – The child’s and parents’/guardians’ attitudes toward acceleration have been considered.

3.1.4.4 Intelligence – The child has been found to operate above the normal range of intelligence.  The child should have been identified as gifted and talented through the District identification process.

3.1.4.5 Maturity – The child is generally mature for his/her age and is comfortable and successful in interactions with older children. It is recognized that few children will meet all of the above criteria; however, the greater the number of criteria present, the more advisable the acceleration. The District will utilize the Iowa Acceleration Scale to help to organize the data into qualifiable and quantifiable criteria for consideration.

3.1.5    A decision will be made by the AAGS Director based on the data and support of the review committee for the child’s acceleration. If the decision is made to accelerate the student, the team will design a transition plan and set appropriate dates for the acceleration to take place. The parent/guardian shall be provided a written copy of the decision within 60 days of completion of all testing and a copy shall be placed in the child’s cumulative records and District GT file.

4.0       Acceleration/Grade Skipping Grades 9-12. Students in grades 9-12 will be permitted to enroll in courses targeted for students in higher grade levels when supported by the student’s record of academic achievement.  High school students who satisfy the District’s graduation requirements may be graduated prior to the completion of four years of high school.

5.0       Appeals and Review Process for acceleration/Grade Skipping in Grades K-12.

5.1       Parents/guardians shall submit a written request for a review to the responsible Executive Director of Schools within thirty (30) calendar days of the AAGS Director’s decision. The request shall identify any items of noncompliance with this policy and the reasons why the AAGS Director’s decision should be modified or changed.

5.2       A review of the AAGS Director’s decision regarding acceleration, grade skipping and/or gifted/talented identification shall be done by the responsible Executive Director of Schools. The parent/guardian, principal, teacher, building coordinator and AAGS Director will be asked to attend a meeting to provide additional information to the Executive Director.

5.3       The parent/guardian will be informed in writing of the decision of the Executive Director of Schools. The decision of the Executive Director shall be final.

LEGAL REFERENCES:
C.R.S. 22-20-201 et seq.
1 CCR 301-8, Rule 12.00 et seq.

CROSS REFERENCES:
Policy 5230
Policy 5260

Adams 12 Five Star Schools
Most Recent Adoption: October 15, 2025