Early Access

General Information
The Colorado Exceptional Children’s Act (ECEA) and Harrison School District 2 School Board Policy allows highly gifted students, who do not meet the age requirement for enrollment into kindergarten or first grade, to apply for Early Access into school.

• Colorado House Bill 1021 stipulates that districts may count in their enrollment and receive State Educational Funds for highly advanced gifted students who meet the established criteria
• The district must abide by the rules promulgated by the State Board of Education
• The district may charge a reasonable fee for the Early Access process
• District responsibilities:

1. Provide early access information to parents
2. Educate teaching staff and community about Early Access
3. Ensure that Early Access aligns to K-12 identification process

Definition
Early Access is defined as a highly gifted four-year-old child entering kindergarten, or a five-year-old entering first grade. A highly gifted child is defined as a gifted child whose body of evidence demonstrates a profile of exceptional ability or potential compared to same-age children. A child may be identified as gifted, but still not qualify for Early Access. To meet the needs of highly advanced development, early access to educational services may be considered as a special provision. Early entrance into school is regarded as a form of acceleration. The decision to accelerate a child can have a profound effect on the child's academic and social performance for the remainder of his/her school career. Therefore, Harrison School District 2 adheres to a thorough set of research-based procedures to determine if a child is eligible for Early Access.