GIFTED EDUCATION AND DISCRIMINATION - THE ROLE OF THE OFFICE FOR CIVIL-RIGHTS

A recurrent problem in gifted education has been charges of discriminatory practices. In recent years the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), U.S. Department of Education, has been active in examining gifted programs to determine whether they are operating in a nondiscriminatory manner. The purpose of this article is to examine the amount of activity by the OCR involving gifted programs through the years 1985-1991. Using the Freedom of Information Act, 48 letters of findings were obtained from the OCR. The letters were analyzed as to the issues involved, protected classes, the geographic regions, and the results of the investigations.