Highly Capable Services

Eligibility

All students are eligible to apply for consideration to receive highly capable services through the referral process. A district-level selection committee chaired by the Director of Highly Capable Services will determine which students meet the criteria for highly capable services.  

Referrals (Annual Fall Referral Window)

Families will be notified each fall about the annual Highly Capable Referral Window. The referral serves to initiate a review process of available data for a scholar and may prompt further assessment as necessary. Parents, community members, teachers, staff, and scholars may refer a scholar for consideration. The digital Highly Capable Referral form, translated in our top 12 languages, is located on our website.  

Universal Screening (2nd & 4th Grades)

The District will perform a data review of all scholars enrolled in 2nd and 4th Grade annually to support equitable identification of scholars who may need Highly Capable services.

Cognitive Assessment (NNAT3 Naglieri Non-Verbal Abilities Test)

The District administers the NNAT3 Naglieri Non-Verbal Abilities cognitive assessment to all scholars who were referred during the annual Highly Capable Referral Window or enrolled in 2nd and 4th Grade as part of Universal Screening. Federal Way Public Schools uses multiple measures to identify scholars who may need additional supports through Highly Capable services. Multiple measures include iReady, Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA), WIDA, etc. Testing will happen at their home school.

The Naglieri Test does not measure specific content knowledge in English Language Arts, Mathematics, or English proficiency. Instead, it measures general cognitive abilities using questions that require scholars to:

• apply problem solving skills
• carefully examine, sequence, orientate, and distinguishing characteristics
• closely examine the relationships among numbers and/or symbols
• apply analyzation skills

Identification

The identification process is led by the Director of Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and Advanced Programs (AP) in collaboration with a district-level, multi-disciplinary team. The goal is to identify as many scholars as possible, using a mosaic of data, who may need additional supports in the classroom through Highly Capable Services.

When performing our HCP identification data review, no single score ends the review process. Rather, we look holistically at all the available data to identify trends that may indicate a scholar is needing additional support through Highly Capable Services. This data includes: Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) ELA & Math

Appeal Process

Parents/legal guardians have the right to appeal the Multi-Disciplinary Selection Committee’s decision. Individuals appealing the selection committee’s decision must submit a completed appeal form on or before the stated deadline to request a review of the identification decision. In order to be considered, the appeal must contain a written explanation indicating why the appeal is being filed, including specific new information that could impact the decision by the selection committee.

Any additional assessments must be initiated by the selection committee.  Assessments conducted by any agency other than FWPS will not be considered in the appeals process.  The committee’s final decision will be communicated in writing to the person filing the appeal on the student’s behalf. 

Exit Process

A parent/guardian may request that a student be withdrawn from highly capable services.  In such cases, the parent/guardian will make the request at the building level, and the building principal and/or designee will forward the request to the Director of Highly Capable Services.  After a review by the selection committee, if a parent/legal guardian still wishes to decline further services for his/her student, the student will be exited and will no longer receive highly capable services. 

If a student with the highly capable designation moves to a new district and then returns, his/her highly capable designation remains, and highly capable services will resume according to the receiving building’s available service-delivery options.  If a student identified for highly capable services in FWPS moves to a different community, the new district may choose to review the student’s available assessment data and may choose to administer additional assessments to determine eligibility. 

A student who was previously enrolled in another district or state, whether identified as highly capable or not, and who missed the most recent referral window in FWPS may be referred to the Highly Capable Services Department within 10 business days of enrollment.  In such cases, the parents/guardians will be informed of the student’s status within three months of enrollment.