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Parents/guardians interested in the gifted magnet process need to adhere to the deadlines at the bottom of this page and on the website's home page. All students must be identified as gifted to apply for gifted magnet status. The gifted magnet application can be done simultaneously with gifted eligibility.  All gifted magnet applicants must be residents of Sarasota County or another county in Florida. Student files cannot be processed without proof of Florida residency, which requires written proof of address: a signed lease, electricity bill, or water bill, which includes your name, address, and current date.    
  
All in-county gifted magnet applications must be processed at their zoned district school. If you live in Sarasota County and your child attends a public school or private school or is home-schooled, contact the Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Instructional Facilitator at your districted school to assist in the gifted magnet process.  

If you are an out-of-county family who would like to apply for a gifted magnet program in Sarasota County, all documents and applications must be sent directly to the gifted magnet school site. 

Florida Out-of-County Gifted Magnet Application

If the student is an out of county family, the parent/guardian must complete and return this application, and all required documents listed on the Florida Out-of-County Gifted Magnet Application. This application and documentation must be given to the ESE Instructional Facilitator at the gifted magnet program site of preference. The deadline for submission of the application and all required documents is April 11, 2025, with no exceptions. All required documents must be received (not postmarked) by 5:00 pm on or before the date specified. INCOMPLETE APPLICATION PACKETS WILL NOT BE PROCESSED.  

The following deadlines are for entering a gifted magnet program for the Fall 2025-26 school year. All items must be received (not postmarked) by 5:00 p.m. on or before the specified date.  

(Students that meet the criteria for gifted magnet programs must enter on the first day of school of a given school year. Entry after the first day of school is not available.)

Gifted Magnet Programs Entry Requirements/Criteria - All applicants must be a Florida resident AND have evidence of gifted eligibility (#1 and #2) PRIOR to applying for gifted magnet consideration. Any documents submitted without this evidence WILL NOT BE PROCESSED.  

1. Florida Resident – Residency must be established in the state of Florida prior to the deadline for submission of the documents listed above. Documents for Florida residents outside Sarasota County must be submitted directly to the gifted magnet site of choice. Documents for students who reside in Sarasota County are submitted to the school district based on their home address. Documents for Sarasota private school students are submitted to the district public school closest to the private school.  

2. Evidence of State of Florida Gifted Program Eligibility –  This could include a gifted EP from any district in the State of Florida, gifted eligibility documentation from any district in the State of Florida, or a gifted plan from out-of-state. An out-of-state gifted plan could include documentation from the previous school district in another state that the student was determined eligible for gifted services in accordance with the applicable requirements of that state and was receiving gifted services.

3. Test of Individual Academic Achievement -  Entry into a gifted magnet program at one of our school sites requires individual academic achievement testing or the FAST Option for grades 4-8. Florida students in grades 4-8 who have taken the FAST assessment can use the FAST Option instead of individual academic achievement testing if their scores meet the following conditions: 

The student scored a level 5 in both Math and Reading on the most recent end-of-year FAST assessment (PM3). 

For students not utilizing the FAST option, academic achievement testing must be administered by a certified/licensed psychologist, school psychologist, or an individual with a graduate degree in education that includes training on the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the instrument. The current version of the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Achievement, the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, or the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement must be administered by reporting age-based standard scores. The School Psychology Department Chair MUST approve any exceptions regarding the use of these assessments. (a minimum score of 127 in both reading and math could meet entry criteria along with the report card grade requirement.) 

• Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement-Fourth Edition: the examiner must report standard scores for the Broad Reading Cluster (subtest #1 Letter-Word Identification #4-Passage Comprehension and subtest #9 Sentence Reading Fluency) and the Broad Math Cluster (subtest #2-Applied Problems, subtest #5-Calculation, and subtest #10-Math Facts Fluency).  *Please note: The WJV will not be accepted for magnet application during the 24/25 school year. 

• Wechsler Individual Achievement Test - Fourth Edition: the examiner must report standard scores for the Reading Composite (subtests: Word Reading and Reading Comprehension) and the Mathematics Composite (subtests: Math Problem Solving and Numerical Operations).  

• Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Third Edition: for students in kindergarten, the examiner must report Reading Composite (Letter & Word Recognition subtest #3 and Reading Comprehension subtest #9) and Math Composite (Math Concepts & Applications subtest #2 and Math Computation subtest #4). For Grades First - 12th students, the examiner must report Reading Understanding Composite (Reading Comprehension subtest #9 and Reading Vocabulary subtest #14) and Math Composite (Math Concepts & Applications subtest #2 and Math Computation subtest #4).  

• To avoid a test/retest policy violation, an alternative academic achievement test must be administered if a reevaluation of a student’s academic skills is conducted within 12 months of the previous evaluation. Both academic areas (reading and mathematics) must be reevaluated to provide a current assessment of the student’s academic profile. The most current reading and mathematics scores will determine if the student meets the entry criteria for a gifted magnet program.  

• If, for some reason, the reading and math subtests cannot be administered in one session, they should be administered within a commensurate time frame (i.e., no more than two weeks apart).  

• Academic assessments must be current within one year. 

4. Report Card Grades- UNWEIGHTED grades are required for English/Language Arts and Math. The report card must have the four most recent grading periods, and at least two consecutive grading periods must be from the current school year. Only traditional (letter) grades may be submitted. If not available, the student's current school must interpret their grades into letter grades.  

• If a parent or practitioner has questions about assessments, please contact the Sarasota County School Psychology Department at 941-927-9000. For any other questions, contact your child's district school.  

• All individual intellectual and academic evaluations will either be completed or reviewed by a Sarasota County School Psychologist.  

• Private evaluations may be obtained at the parent/guardian’s expense.  

• Private psychologists must submit assessment results presented in a written report when used for eligibility consideration. Reports from psychologists in private practice are subject to review and verification by Sarasota County School Board staff prior to gifted eligibility determination and magnet program consideration.   

• Files for Sarasota County residents are processed by the Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Instructional Facilitator at your child’s district or charter school. Your Sarasota County address determines your school district. Contact the School District office if you need assistance determining the location of your district school.   

• Only complete files with proof of residency submitted to your district school by the deadline indicated on the evaluation timeline will be accepted for eligibility determination and magnet program consideration.   

• If a student meets the criteria for a Magnet Program, the parent will be given the Florida In-County Resident Magnet Application form to complete and sign. 

It is the responsibility of Sarasota County Schools to collect all the required documentation if the student is enrolled in a Sarasota County public school. If the child attends a private school, is home-schooled, or is a transferring student, the parent must submit all the required documents to their zoned district school by the dates indicated on the Evaluation Timeline.  If using the Florida Out-of-County Resident Magnet Application, the parent must submit all required documents to the gifted magnet program site by the established deadlines. 

Participation in a Gifted Magnet Program

• Students in a Gifted Magnet Program must consistently demonstrate a need for an accelerated curriculum to maintain their continued placement. They are required to uphold an unweighted GPA of 2.5 or higher in core-content courses at the gifted magnet site. 

• Students seeking to transfer from one Gifted Magnet Program to another Gifted Magnet Program must be in good academic standing.   

• Students who chose to leave the gifted magnet program and seek re-entry must undergo a reentry review to confirm the need for an accelerated curriculum and must have an unweighted GPA of 3.0 or higher in their current coursework. 

• Students who qualified for the gifted magnet program but chose not to enroll must undergo a reentry review and demonstrate a need for an accelerated curriculum with an unweighted GPA of 3.0 or higher in their current coursework for delayed entry consideration. 

Demonstrating a Need

• Students demonstrate a need for the gifted magnet program accelerated curriculum by showing consistent above-grade-level performance across the core curriculum.  

• Factors to consider for evidence of demonstrating a need will include GPA/report card grades and recent state testing or norm-referenced group achievement tests.  Additional consideration factors could consist of transcript review, performance on recent individual academic achievement assessments, class performance, feedback from teachers and parents, and other formative assessments.   

Considerations for Accessing the Gifted Magnet Program

Students seeking reentry to a gifted magnet program, entry after a delay, or magnet-to-magnet transfers must meet all requirements/criteria and all county deadline dates.  Requests for reviews for re-entry, entry after a delay, and magnet transfers must be made by the final gifted magnet deadline date.  All reviews for in-county residents are done through the student's zoned districted or current district school of attendance.  If the student meets the criteria and all county deadlines, the student may return to a specialized gifted magnet program at the start of the upcoming school year.  
 

There are four review scenarios for consideration for accessing gifted magnet programs:  

1. Continued Enrollment in the Gifted Magnet Program: GPA and state testing scores are routinely monitored for all students placed in a Gifted Magnet Program.  Students must remain in good academic standing for continued enrollment in the gifted magnet program.  The student must meet the criteria noted below.   

2. Reentry to Gifted Magnet Site: The student initially attended a gifted magnet program and has not accessed gifted services through attendance at a magnet program as the most recently attended educational placement and would like to reenter a gifted magnet site. The student must meet the criteria noted below.  

3. Entry after a Delay: The student met the criteria for gifted magnet services and has not accessed gifted services through attendance at a magnet program; the student must meet the criteria noted below.   

4. Magnet to Magnet Transfer: The student has been accessing services at a magnet site and would like to access services at a different magnet location. The request must be made by the county deadline to request reentry review, and the student must meet the criteria noted below.  

 Criteria for Consideration

• Students must demonstrate a need for an accelerated curriculum (see sections above about participation and demonstrating a need).  

• For Continued Enrollment in the Gifted Magnet Program and Magnet to Magnet Transfer: Unweighted GPA of 2.5 or higher in the gifted magnet program core coursework as determined by the three most recent grading periods.   

• For Re-Entry to a Magnet site OR Entry after a delay: Unweighted GPA of 3.0 or higher as determined by the three most recent grading periods in the school/education program.  At least two consecutive grading periods must be from the current school year.   

• Unweighted GPA is based on the following coursework per grade level:

  • Gr. 2 & 3 – ELA, math  

  • Gr. 4 & 5 – ELA, math, science, social studies  

  • Gr. 6-8 – ELA, math, science, social studies, foreign language (for HS credit only)  

  • Gr. 9-12 – ELA, math, science, social studies, foreign language  

• Most recent state testing level 4 or above in reading and math (or scores at the 90%ile on other reading and math norm-referenced group achievement tests).