The current guidelines within which Gifted education programs operate was established with reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1988 and passage of the Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act.

At the federal level, the program supports “evidence-based research, demonstration projects, innovative strategies, and similar activities designed to build and enhance the ability of elementary schools and secondary schools nationwide to identify gifted and talented students and meet their special educational needs."

Within Illinois, school districts define both the criteria for “giftedness” and the assessments used to measure it, and self-report data on their programs of gifted education.