Advocating for Advanced Learners at the Federal Level

The Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program is the only dedicated federal program supporting K-12 gifted and advanced education. The Javits program funds demonstration projects, research, and other initiatives designed to increase the capacity of K-12 education to meet the needs of advanced students. Many of the field’s advances over the past 30 years – from new identification strategies to development of hiqh-quality curriculum to improved strategies for supporting twice-exceptional students – have been developed, refined, and studied in Javits-funded projects. 

Each year, the powerful House and Senate Appropriations Committees debate and approve a bill that sets the funding levels for each federal program, Javits among them. Part of that process is the signing of “Dear Colleague” letters, in which representatives and senators sign on to letters that ask the leaders of the appropriations subcommittees to maintain or increase funding for specific programs.   

Encouraging elected officials to sign Dear Colleague letters is not just about building support for the Javits Program. Advocates find that staff of elected officials who sign a Javits letter tend to be open to other conversations about gifted students. In some cases, my colleagues and I have found that the staff of officials who did not sign are still open to additional conversations now that the topic is on their radar screen. (Members of the appropriations committees usually do not sign the letters, since they would essentially be sending a letter to themselves.) 

This year’s appropriation “letter season” has ended, and 19 senators and 19 representatives signed the Javits Dear Colleague letter (this counts one representative who signed his own letter of support). To provide some context, 31 representatives signed the House letter three years ago. That’s still not an impressive amount of support, but it’s considerably better than this year’s list. 

Two developments this year form a bit of a silver lining. First, two new Republican House members signed, increasing the total to four. One Senate aide noted that the majority of signatories were Republican not that long ago. Given the bipartisan appeal of our work, we need to increase Republican support sharply. Second, our colleagues at the New Jersey Association for Gifted Children (NJAGC) once again worked with their delegation and obtained 13 House and Senate signatures from the New Jersey delegation, accounting for nearly a third of the overall support. But it was otherwise a disappointing letter season. 

Why this dip in support? I’ve heard a few theories, including that the polarized nature of our federal politics makes it hard to gather bipartisan support for any particular program. But many of the 31 representatives who signed in FY23 continue to serve in Congress but did not sign this year. This suggests that the lack of signatures is due to inadequate advocacy and not a change of heart about gifted education and the Javits program. Indeed, my work in DC leads me to believe that support for advanced education hasn’t been this strong – or bipartisan – in many years. 

I’m also pointing a finger at myself here: I live and work in three states plus DC, and only 4 of my 6 senators and 1 of my 4 representatives signed. Next year, my goal will be to get all 10 elected officials onboard. I’m starting that process this week. 

Federal advocacy may feel daunting, but it’s straightforward and often surprisingly easy. Calling or emailing your representative or senators’ offices is not difficult (their web pages have the contact information; you can also start here or here). If you call, you can leave a message with the person who answers, or you can ask to speak to the education aide. Regardless, have your one-minute advocacy pitch ready, and keep the conversation short-and-sweet. Your “ask” can be as simple as, “I’d appreciate the Senator’s support for gifted children and the Javits Act, and I encourage the Senator to sign the Dear Colleague letter in support of the program next year.” 

Even better, if you’re passing through DC at any point, contact the offices and request a brief meeting with a legislative aide – you’re not imposing on them, meeting with constituents is an important part of their job! Even a five-minute meeting keeps Javits and advanced students on their radar screens. If you can provide an example of how gifted education benefits students in your state or congressional district, share it with the office/s to help them better understand the circumstances for their advanced learners (keep in mind that the aides likely have little or no experience with the topic). NAGC's biannual report, State of the States, provides detailed information about gifted education across the nation that may prove helpful.  And after the first meeting, subsequent meetings get easier. As I often tell my policy students, during the first visit you’re a constituent, after that you’re an advocate! 

There are also several organizations that are willing to provide advice and assistance as you do this work. NAGC’s Public Policy and Advocacy Committee can provide support, and NJAGC’s leadership is always willing to help facilitate advocacy efforts. Many of NAGC’s state affiliates have active advocacy programs and can provide contacts, resources, and advice.

My closing bit of advice is that there is never a bad time to start being an advocate. Yes, letter season is over for this budget cycle, but it starts up again in about 8 months, which is a blip on the Congressional calendar. In the meantime, your elected officials in DC will be voting on next year’s appropriations bills and this year’s “big, beautiful budget bill.” As I write this, the Trump Administration has just proposed eliminating the Javits Program – this would be a good time to remind your elected officials of the program’s importance.  

We finally have some wind in our sails regarding national level support for gifted and advanced education, and each of us, including state groups and NAGC, need to make a concerted, coordinated effort to maintain and grow that support. 

Jonathan Plucker is the director of the education policy program at Johns Hopkins University and a past-president of NAGC.