Louise wrote:


I don't know how this works in other countries, but in Canada and in
the USA there is legislation about giving each child the education he
needs. If a child is tested to be {gifted / learning disabled /
handicapped in some other way}, then once a year the school, parents,
and child review the IEP (Individual Education Plan), which discusses
the recommended accommodations for this child's exceptionalities.


Unfortunately, this is not always true for gifted children. In the
US, a child with a disability is entitled to a Free and Appropriate
Public Education by federal law. Giftedness is not considered a
disability under this law. A gifted child may or may not have rights
under state law, but is entitled to nothing under federal law. Some
states write IEPs for gifted, others do not. Especially with the
advent of NCLB, many schools do not have the resources to do anything
they are not legally required to do for gifted kids, who are already
not "left behind" according to that law. Accordingly, many gifted
children learn nothing in school, with the full support of the state
and the school board and federal law.

--Robyn