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Highly Capable Program · Washington State
Washington’s Highly Capable Program: Basic Education Status, Mandatory Dual Screening, and Rules That Protect Students From Being Screened Out
Washington is the only state in this series where the legislature formally declared that access to accelerated learning and enhanced instruction is access to a basic education. RCW 28A.185 requires universal screening at two grade bands, a multidisciplinary selection committee for every placement decision, multiple criteria where no single measure disqualifies a student, and a continuum of services from identification through grade 12.
~295
Washington school districts operating Highly Capable Programs as part of basic education
2 times
required universal screening: once in or before grade 2, and again in or before grade 6
5%
of FTE enrollment is the state funding basis; not an identification cap; districts may serve more
K-12
continuum of services required once a student is identified, from point of identification through grade 12
The foundational declaration: RCW 28A.185.020 and WAC 392-170-012
Access to HCP Is Access to Basic Education: What This Means for Every Washington District
WAC 392-170-035 and 392-170-036
How Washington Defines Highly Capable Students and Their Learning Characteristics
Under WAC 392-170-035, highly capable students are those who perform or show potential for performing at significantly advanced academic levels when compared with others of their age, experiences, or environment. The rule explicitly states that outstanding abilities are present in students from all cultural groups, across all economic strata, and in all areas of human endeavor: a foundational equity statement embedded in the definition itself.
A student need not be highly capable in multiple areas to qualify. Capability demonstrated in one area is sufficient for consideration. Highly capable identification is also not limited to academically-oriented students: the definition’s scope encompasses the full range of human endeavor.
WAC 392-170-036 defines learning characteristics of highly capable students. These are indicators students may possess, but are not limited to. Students are not required to have all five characteristics, and the list is not exhaustive:
1
Unusual depth of understanding, retention, and transfer: Capacity to learn with unusual depth of understanding, to retain what has been learned, and to transfer learning to new situations with great facility. Transfer is explicitly named: the highly capable student doesn’t just learn material but applies it across contexts in ways that demonstrate genuine comprehension.
Enrichment database: advanced transfer and application activities
2
Earlier engagement with abstraction and complexity: Capacity and willingness to deal with increasing levels of abstraction and complexity earlier than age-mates. Not just dealing with more difficult material, but engaging with it earlier in development, and with willingness: an intrinsic drive to tackle complexity, not just external pressure.
PBL tools: complex investigations at depth above grade level
3
Creative connections and possibilities: Creative ability to make unusual connections and see possibilities not seen by others. This is a specific form of creativity: the integrative kind. The highly capable student is characterized not just by originality but by the ability to connect apparently unrelated domains and perceive solutions or meanings that others miss.
CTC: scored creative connection and divergent thinking evidence
4
Intense intellectual curiosity and intrinsic motivation: Unusually intense intellectual curiosity and high levels of intrinsic motivation. Not just interest in school subjects but intense, self-driven intellectual curiosity that persists without external reward and that often drives students into independent investigation beyond the classroom.
Renzulli Profiler: deep interest inventories and intrinsic motivation documentation
5
Unusually intense feelings and emotional depth: Unusually intense feelings and a higher level of emotional depth than typical age-mates. Washington’s definition explicitly recognizes the social-emotional dimension of high capability as a characteristic, not just a side effect. This provides direct regulatory grounding for attending to the affective needs of highly capable students as part of understanding who they are.
EFA: self-regulation and emotional intensity profile
Not a checklist, not a threshold: WAC 392-170-036 uses the phrase “may possess, but are not limited to.” A student who displays only one or two of these five characteristics but at a striking level may still qualify. A student who displays none of the above but demonstrates significantly advanced academic performance through assessment data still qualifies. The learning characteristics are context for identification, not a pass/fail rubric.
RCW 28A.185.030: mandatory dual universal screening
Two Required Universal Screenings: The Structure That Finds Students Who Would Otherwise Be Missed
Washington is the only state in this series with a two-point universal screening requirement embedded in statute. Districts that operate HCP programs must screen all students at two specific grade bands, not just respond to referrals:
First Required Screening
In or Before Grade 2
Universal screening of all students at the early elementary level to identify students who may qualify for HCP placement. Students not enrolled in the district during the past year must have an opportunity for identification during enrollment. Early screening catches giftedness that may not yet show up in academic performance data.
Statutory Requirement (RCW 28A.185.030)
Second Required Screening
In or Before Grade 6
A second universal screening at the late elementary/middle school transition. This catches students whose giftedness emerged or became visible later, students who transferred in, and students who were missed in the first screening. The two-gate structure is specifically designed to address underidentification of students who need multiple exposures to the identification process.
Statutory Requirement (RCW 28A.185.030)
Year-Round After Grade 6
Continuous K-12 Referral Process
WAC 392-170-045 requires a K-12 continuous referral process operating year-round, permitting referrals based on data or evidence from teachers, other staff, parents, students, or community members. Referral windows within the school year are permitted. The K-12 continuous process ensures no student is permanently excluded from being considered.
Required by WAC 392-170-045
The equity logic of universal screening: Washington’s legislature specifically found that universal screening and multiple criteria are supported by research literature for equitable identification. Students from low-income families, students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, and students who are English learners are systematically under-referred in teacher-nomination-only systems. Universal screening removes the referral barrier, ensuring every student’s data is examined, not just those whose teachers or parents advocate for assessment. The 2023 amendments (c 265) reinforced this equity mandate and directed public annual demographic reporting beginning November 2023.
WAC 392-170-055: the assessment process rules
What Washington’s Assessment Rules Require, and What They Prohibit
WAC 392-170-055 frames Washington’s assessment process through both requirements and explicit prohibitions. The prohibitions are as important as the requirements:
Prohibited: Screening out by subjective measures Subjective measures such as teacher recommendations or report card grades may not be used to screen out a student from assessment (WAC 392-170-055(c)). This does not mean subjective data is irrelevant; it means a teacher’s opinion that a student is not gifted, or a student’s imperfect grades, cannot serve as a reason to deny them full assessment. Students must reach the assessment stage regardless of teacher or grade-based impressions.
Prohibited: Single-criterion disqualification Multiple pathways for qualification must be available. No single criterion may disqualify a student from identification (WAC 392-170-055(a)). A student who fails to reach a cutoff on one instrument cannot be excluded solely on that basis. The assessment process must continue and consider other evidence.
Prohibited: Local norms more restrictive than national norms Criteria must be benchmarked on local norms, but local norms may not be used as a more restrictive criterion than national norms (WAC 392-170-055(b)). This prevents high-achieving districts from raising the bar so high that students who would qualify nationally cannot qualify locally. Local norms can make identification more inclusive; they cannot make it more exclusive than the national standard.
Required: Multiple objective criteria Districts must use multiple objective criteria for identification of students among the most highly capable (WAC 392-170-055(a)). The multi-criteria requirement ensures no single test score, referral, or assessment drives the decision without corroborating evidence from other sources or instruments.
Required: Written assessment process Districts must have a clearly defined and written assessment process (WAC 392-170-055(4)). There is no single prescribed method for identification (WAC 392-170-055(3)); flexibility is preserved. But whatever method the district uses must be documented, defined, and consistently applied.
Required: Equitable identification priority District practices for identifying the most highly capable students must prioritize equitable identification of low-income students (WAC 392-170-055(5)), consistent with RCW 28A.185.020. This is a substantive obligation, not merely an aspiration.
WAC 392-170-070 and 392-170-075
The Multidisciplinary Selection Committee: Three Required Members, One Final Authority
All final identification and placement decisions must be made by a multidisciplinary selection committee after considering universal screening results, any further assessment, and all available district data. No individual staff member makes this decision alone. The committee must include three required professionals:
Required Member 1
Special Teacher (or Classroom Teacher)
A teacher with training, experience, and knowledge in highly capable education, covering identification procedures, academic and social-emotional characteristics, program design, and instructional practices. If a special teacher is not available, a classroom teacher is appointed. Districts are not required to employ a special teacher or hold a Gifted Specialty Endorsement, though it is available.
Required Member 2
Psychologist or Qualified Practitioner
A psychologist or other qualified practitioner with the training to interpret cognitive and achievement test results. This member brings the assessment interpretation expertise essential for making defensible decisions about complex profiles: students who score high in one area, students with twice-exceptional profiles, and students whose standardized scores may underrepresent their capability.
Required Member 3
Certificated Coordinator or Administrator
A certificated coordinator or administrator with responsibility for supervising the district’s HCP. This member provides program knowledge, ensures selection is consistent with district procedures under WAC 392-170-075, and connects identification decisions to available service options.
The board of directors must adopt a selection policy and the district must establish written procedures for the committee’s work (WAC 392-170-075). The policy must: not violate civil rights laws; be based on professional judgment about which students will benefit most; use a selection system determining who is most highly capable; and prioritize equitable identification of low-income students. Districts must also have an appeal procedure and communicate that procedure to the public (WAC 392-170-076).
WAC 392-170-078 and WAC 392-170-080
The K-12 Service Continuum: Identification Triggers a Commitment Through Grade 12
WAC 392-170-078: Program Services
Once identified, a continuum of services must be provided through grade 12
Districts must make a variety of appropriate program services available to enrolled HCP students. Once services begin, the continuum is maintained. Districts must periodically review services for each student to ensure they remain appropriate to that student’s evolving needs and capabilities.
WAC 392-170-080 requires that districts take individual student needs and capabilities into consideration when providing services, and keep a description of each individual student’s educational program. This individual documentation obligation creates a student-level accountability mechanism within the program framework.
Programs may include any variety of appropriate services the district determines will meet each student’s needs at their capability level: advanced coursework, curriculum compacting, subject or grade acceleration, mentorships, enrichment classes, dual enrollment, independent study, AP and IB courses, and others.
RCW 28A.150.260 and 28A.185.050
Funding, Accountability, and Annual Public Demographic Reporting
The 5% funding basis (not a 5% cap) State HCP categorical funding is allocated based on 5.0% of each district’s FTE basic education enrollment. This is the basis for the categorical allocation, not an identification limit. The legislature explicitly stated: “The legislature does not intend to limit highly capable services to five percent of the student population. School districts may identify and serve more than five percent of their students for highly capable programs and services.” The categorical minimum allocation provides resources for approximately 2.16 hours per week of extra instruction with 15 HCP students per teacher. Basic education funds may also be used alongside categorical funds.
State HCP Appropriations
2023
$33.9M
2022
$32.2M
2021
$31.6M
2020
$30.5M
Annual public demographic data and OSPI monitoring Beginning November 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, OSPI must make data publicly available comparing HCP students to the general student population of each district by race, ethnicity, and low-income status. The data also includes comparisons for English language learners, students with IEPs, students with 504 plans, students covered by McKinney-Vento (homeless), and highly mobile students. This public reporting creates district-by-district accountability for equity gaps that any family, researcher, or journalist can examine. OSPI also monitors HCP programs at least once every five years, reviewing: identification process and outreach to diverse backgrounds; assessment data on how well academic needs are being met; and district expenditures for HCP enrichment and opportunities.
Platform tools
What Renzulli Learning Provides: Mapped to Washington’s HCP Framework
Renzulli Profiler, WAC 392-170-036 Learning Characteristic 4 (Intense Intellectual Curiosity) and Multiple-Criteria Assessment: The Profiler documents intellectual interest intensity, engagement patterns, and learning style characteristics: precisely the intrinsic motivation and intellectual curiosity indicators that WAC 392-170-036(4) defines as an HCP learning characteristic. For the multidisciplinary selection committee’s review, Profiler data provides documented, structured evidence of student-level curiosity and engagement patterns that complements cognitive test data. It also contributes to the multiple-criteria requirement of WAC 392-170-055(a), ensuring no single test score drives the decision.
Cebeci Test of Creativity (CTC), WAC 392-170-036 Learning Characteristic 3 (Creative Connections) and Multiple-Criteria Assessment: WAC 392-170-036 specifically defines the creative ability characteristic as making unusual connections and seeing possibilities not seen by others. The CTC assesses this exact dimension with scored evidence. For the assessment process, the CTC provides an objective creativity criterion that can serve as one of the multiple criteria required by WAC 392-170-055(a), helping ensure that students identified by intellectual ability tests also have their creative dimension documented, and that students whose creative strength is primary also have scored evidence to present to the multidisciplinary committee.
Leadership Assessment, Multiple-Criteria Assessment and HCP Service Planning: Washington’s WAC 392-170-036 definition encompasses all areas of human endeavor, not just academic performance. The Leadership Assessment provides documented behavioral evidence of leadership capability that contributes to the multiple-criteria portfolio the multidisciplinary committee considers. For students identified in part through leadership indicators, the Leadership Assessment data also informs the individual educational program description required by WAC 392-170-080, helping coordinators design services that address the student’s identified areas of strength.
Enrichment Database, WAC 392-170-078 Variety of Appropriate Program Services and K-12 Continuum: Washington requires a variety of appropriate program services matched to individual student needs across the K-12 continuum. Over 40,000 interest-matched, above-curriculum activities provide the variety that WAC 392-170-078 requires, covering all five learning characteristics domains: depth and transfer (Characteristic 1), abstraction and complexity (Characteristic 2), creative connections (Characteristic 3), intellectual curiosity (Characteristic 4), and the affective dimension (Characteristic 5). The self-directed format respects the accelerated rate at which highly capable students progress through material.
Project-Based Learning (PBL) Tools, WAC 392-170-036 Characteristics 1 and 2 and Individual Program Documentation: PBL delivers the depth, unusual connections, and complex investigation that WAC 392-170-036 Characteristics 1 and 2 describe as defining features of highly capable learners. Original student investigations demonstrate transfer and abstraction in practice, providing the student work product evidence that documenting an individual student’s educational program (WAC 392-170-080) requires. PBL products also provide the authentic evidence of program effectiveness that the district’s end-of-year OSPI report (WAC 392-170-090) can draw on to show students met goals.
Personal Success Plan (PSP), WAC 392-170-080 Individual Educational Program Documentation and Annual Reporting: WAC 392-170-080 requires that districts keep a description of each individual student’s educational program within HCP. The PSP generates the student-level service records, participation logs, and progress documentation that constitute this individual program description. For the end-of-year report to OSPI (WAC 392-170-090), which must include data on whether students met program goals, PSP records provide the organized evidence base. For OSPI’s annual demographic comparison report (RCW 28A.185.050), PSP participation records support accurate identification of which students are receiving services.
Executive Function Assessment, WAC 392-170-036 Learning Characteristic 5 (Emotional Depth) and Twice-Exceptional Students: Washington’s WAC 392-170-036 explicitly recognizes unusual emotional depth and intense feelings as a learning characteristic of highly capable students. This places social-emotional awareness inside the regulatory definition itself, not as a supplementary service. The EFA provides self-regulation and metacognitive data that supports the affective dimension of HCP services. For twice-exceptional students (those who are both highly capable and have a disability or learning difference), the EFA helps identify where executive function challenges may be masking highly capable performance, informing the multidisciplinary committee’s review.
RCW and WAC alignment
Washington’s HCP Framework and Renzulli Learning: Side by Side
RCW 28A.185 WAC 392-170-035 WAC 392-170-055 WAC 392-170-078| Washington HCP Requirement | Renzulli Learning Contribution |
|---|---|
| Basic Education: RCW 28A.185.020 Access to accelerated learning and enhanced instruction is basic education; districts may use basic education funds alongside categorical HCP funds | All Renzulli tools support the delivery of accelerated and enhanced instruction that Washington’s basic education finding requires. The enrichment database and PBL tools specifically deliver accelerated content at advanced levels, directly addressing the “accelerated learning and enhanced instruction” standard. |
| Universal Screening: RCW 28A.185.030 Two required screenings: in or before grade 2 AND in or before grade 6; multidisciplinary committee makes final decisions after screening, assessment, and district data review | Profiler and CTC provide efficient, structured assessment data that feeds into the post-screening review process. For students identified through universal screening who need additional assessment, these tools add qualitative and creativity evidence alongside cognitive test data for the multidisciplinary committee. |
| Assessment Rules: WAC 392-170-055 Multiple criteria required; no single criterion disqualifies; subjective measures may not screen out; local norms may not be more restrictive than national; equitable ID of low-income students prioritized | CTC (objective creativity criterion), Profiler (interest and curiosity documentation), and Leadership Assessment (behavioral leadership evidence) collectively expand the multiple-criteria portfolio available to the committee, ensuring the assessment process is not reduced to a single cognitive test score. CTC’s accessible format supports equity identification for underrepresented populations. |
| Learning Characteristics: WAC 392-170-036 Five characteristics students may possess: depth and transfer, abstraction and complexity, creative connections, intellectual curiosity and intrinsic motivation, emotional depth and intensity | Profiler (Characteristic 4: intellectual curiosity), CTC (Characteristic 3: creative connections), EFA (Characteristic 5: emotional depth and self-regulation), enrichment database (Characteristics 1 and 2: depth, complexity, transfer), PBL (Characteristics 1, 2, and 3: investigation, abstraction, creative connection). All five WAC 392-170-036 characteristics are addressed across the platform. |
| K-12 Continuum: WAC 392-170-078 Variety of appropriate program services from point of identification through grade 12; periodic review of each student’s services | The enrichment database provides 40,000+ activities across all grade levels and domains. PBL tools scale from elementary investigation to advanced secondary research. The PSP tracks service delivery across years, supporting the periodic review requirement and documenting each student’s evolving program. |
| Individual Program: WAC 392-170-080 Each student’s individual educational program must be documented; end-of-year report to OSPI on student outcomes and goal attainment | PSP records constitute the individual student program documentation WAC 392-170-080 requires. Exportable summaries provide the student-level outcome data for the end-of-year OSPI report. PBL student products provide authentic evidence of goal attainment for OSPI’s review of program effectiveness. |
Frequently asked questions
Washington Highly Capable Program: Common Questions
Under RCW 28A.185.020 and WAC 392-170-012, Washington law states that for highly capable students, access to accelerated learning and enhanced instruction is access to a basic education. Washington’s constitution guarantees basic education to all students. By embedding this finding in statute and rule, the legislature placed HCP services on the same constitutional footing as regular education obligations, not as optional enrichment. Districts may also use basic education funds in addition to the HCP categorical allocation to provide appropriate services, removing the funding silo that limits programs in other states.
Under RCW 28A.185.030, school districts that operate HCP programs must conduct universal screenings of students in or before grade 2, and again in or before grade 6. Both screenings are required. The purpose is to find students who would not otherwise be referred, particularly students from underrepresented populations who may not have advocates familiar with the referral process. After universal screening, the multidisciplinary selection committee reviews results alongside any further assessment data and all available district data before making identification decisions.
Under WAC 392-170-055(a), multiple pathways for qualification must be available and no single criterion may disqualify a student from identification. This means that if a student scores below a district cutoff on one assessment, that score alone cannot end their consideration. The assessment process must continue and consider other criteria. Additionally, WAC 392-170-055(c) prohibits using subjective measures like teacher recommendations or report card grades to screen out a student from assessment. A teacher’s belief that a student is not gifted cannot prevent the student from receiving full assessment.
Under WAC 392-170-070, all final identification and placement decisions must be made by a multidisciplinary selection committee. No individual staff member decides alone. The committee must include three required members: (1) a special teacher or classroom teacher; (2) a psychologist or other qualified practitioner who can interpret cognitive and achievement test results; and (3) a certificated coordinator or administrator responsible for the HCP. The committee reviews universal screening results, any further assessment, and all available district data. Under WAC 392-170-075, selection must be based on professional judgment about which students will benefit most from the program and must prioritize equitable identification of low-income students.
No. The 5% figure in RCW 28A.150.260(10)(c) is the basis for calculating state categorical funding allocations, not a limit on how many students districts may identify and serve. The legislature explicitly clarified in 2023 legislation (c 265): “The legislature does not intend to limit highly capable services to five percent of the student population. School districts may identify and serve more than five percent of their students for highly capable programs and services.” Districts that identify more than 5% may draw on basic education funds in addition to HCP categorical funds to serve all identified students.
Renzulli Learning supports Washington’s complete HCP framework. For identification: the CTC provides scored creativity evidence (WAC 392-170-036 Characteristic 3 and WAC 392-170-055 multiple criteria); the Profiler documents intellectual curiosity and intrinsic motivation (Characteristic 4); the Leadership Assessment provides behavioral leadership evidence. For services: the enrichment database delivers variety of appropriate services across K-12; PBL tools provide complex investigations. For documentation: the PSP supports WAC 392-170-080 individual program documentation and OSPI end-of-year reporting. The EFA addresses Characteristic 5 (emotional depth) and twice-exceptional needs.
Official sources
Washington Highly Capable Program Resources
All identification, assessment, and service decisions should reference primary OSPI and statutory sources. Renzulli Learning complements each district’s locally developed HCP identification procedures and service plans.
- OSPI Highly Capable Program Hub (overview, demographic data, contacts, resources)
- OSPI Guidance and Resources for Educators and Families (basic education status, funding notes, gifted endorsement, UW Early Entrance Program)
- RCW 28A.185: Highly Capable Students (full chapter including basic education finding, universal screening, 5% funding basis, demographic reporting requirements)
- WAC Chapter 392-170: Special Service Program, Highly Capable Students (all sections: definitions, annual notification, referral, assessment, nondiscrimination, committee, selection, appeal, program services)
Explore Renzulli Learning’s gifted and advanced learner alignment for neighboring states:
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