Questions arise over new GATE criteria

Some are questioning whether Lodi Unified's plan to allow more minority students to qualify for gifted programs is a violation of discrimination policies laid out in the state constitution.

District officials, however, say they are adhering to California Education Codes that mandate diversity in gifted classes.

These dueling pieces of legislation seem to leave districts to their own devices when it comes to offering an equal opportunity education. The best districts can do is make sure the language they use is fair, according to Lodi Unified GATE Coordinator John Coakley.

Trustees recently approved changing the requirements of the Gifted and Talented Education program to allow more opportunity for minority students to join its ranks.

Students are now eligible to receive extra points on top of their standardized test scores for limiting factors present in their lives. So, for example, a child who has a learning disability, is an English language learner or comes from an impoverished or culturally diverse background will receive special consideration.

"We've been seeing lately our (GATE) enrollment is down," Lodi Unified Superintendent Bill Huyett said Monday. "That's an indicator that it needs to be opened up a little."

Despite past attempts to diversify its gifted programs, the district found GATE enrollment did not reflect the makeup of the district.

Some parents, however, are criticizing the new standards for giving preferential treatment to some students and not others. They cite sections of the California Constitution, which declares it illegal for state agencies to give special treatment to anyone on the basis of their race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.

But California Education Code mandates that districts make special efforts to ensure students from economically disadvantaged and varying cultural backgrounds be allowed full participation in GATE programs.

Huyett said his staff worked closely with the district's legal counsel to make sure the changes were not in violation of any pre-existing laws and did not denote preferential treatment.

"We did have to be thoughtful about how we did this," Huyett said, adding that special attention was paid to Proposition 209, which further prohibits discrimination among public entities.

Christopher Jepsen, an education specialist for the Public Policy Institute of California, said it's a tough challenge for districts to adhere to both laws when it comes to promoting diversity.

"The codes themselves are kind of in conflict," Jepsen said. "It seems to depend on interpretation."

Odis Johnson, Jr., an assistant professor of cultural studies at University of California, Davis, said the changes seem to be an improvement over the district's old system, but expressed concern for how teachers assess a student's cultural diversity.

Because some teachers have expressed a reluctance to judge whether a student deserves extra points for a having a diverse cultural background, Johnson fears those teachers will withdraw from judgment altogether.

"The school district needs to make sure teachers who are otherwise skeptical of the (assessment) still follow through with it," Johnson added.

In the mean time, the district will apply the new GATE criteria and ask opponents to focus on the possible long-term benefits of a more diversified program.

"We're going to do what we feel we need to do to be more inclusive in the GATE program," Coakley said.

Contact reporter Sara Cardine at sarac@lodinews.com.

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