Schools ELIMINATE Gifted Programs—Parents in Panic

Empty classroom with desks, chairs, and whiteboard.

America’s brightest students are being systematically failed by a federal funding system that pours $13 billion annually into special education while gifted programs receive zero federal dollars, leaving three million high-ability children neglected and, in disturbing cases, mislabeled with mental illnesses just to access educational resources.

Story Snapshot

Only seven states fully fund gifted education programs, with average spending at just $0.50 per gifted student compared to $1,500 for special education students
Forty percent of school districts eliminated gifted tracks between 2020-2023 as COVID relief funds prioritized equity initiatives over excellence
Twice-exceptional children—gifted students with co-occurring conditions—face 20% higher misdiagnosis rates since 2020 as schools seek special education funding
Celebrity advocate Paris Hilton focuses advocacy on institutional abuse survivors while remaining silent on gifted education crisis affecting millions

Federal Funding Crisis Abandons Gifted Students

The U.S. Department of Education allocates zero federal mandate funding for gifted education programs while special education receives $13 billion annually under IDEA mandates. This staggering disparity has created a two-tiered system where only seven states mandate and fully fund gifted education services. Forty-three states offer some gifted services, but funding averages a mere fifty cents per gifted student. The Biden administration’s December 2025 budget proposal exacerbated this crisis by requesting an additional $1 billion boost for special education with nothing allocated for gifted programs, sending a clear message about federal priorities that abandon academic excellence.

Post-COVID Cuts Devastate Merit-Based Programs

COVID-19 relief funding accelerated the destruction of gifted education infrastructure across America. Between 2020 and 2022, schools received $190 billion in federal COVID relief, with 84 percent allocated toward special education and equity initiatives. The National Association for Gifted Children documented 30 percent cuts to gifted programs across twenty states during this period. By 2023, Education Week surveys revealed that 40 percent of school districts had completely eliminated gifted tracks. This deliberate defunding reflects the woke ideology that views merit-based education as inherently discriminatory, sacrificing excellence at the altar of equity. Rural and minority gifted students suffer most, with 50 percent of these populations remaining underserved according to NAGC data.

Misdiagnosis Trend Emerges From Funding Pressure

A troubling pattern has emerged where schools diagnose high-IQ students with ADHD, anxiety disorders, and other mental health conditions to access special education funding streams. The Government Accountability Office reported in October 2025 that misdiagnosis rates for twice-exceptional children increased 20 percent since 2020. Dr. Deborah Ruf from the Supporting Emotional Needs of Gifted organization notes that 40 percent of gifted children exhibit traits that mimic mental illness due to educational mismatch, not actual pathology. Fifty percent of gifted girls go undiagnosed with legitimate ADHD because their giftedness masks symptoms. This creates a perverse incentive structure where schools benefit financially from labeling bright students as disabled rather than advanced, fundamentally rebranding talent as illness to navigate broken funding systems.

Paris Hilton’s Misplaced Celebrity Advocacy

Paris Hilton has leveraged her celebrity platform to advocate for youth institutional abuse survivors through her #BreakingCodeSilence campaign and 2021 congressional testimony about “troubled teen” programs. While her personal trauma story resonates, her advocacy completely ignores the gifted education crisis affecting three million American children. Hilton’s January 2026 social media posts focus exclusively on foster care reform, maintaining silence on educational funding disparities. Amanda Meyer from Stop Institutional Child Abuse acknowledged that while Hilton’s work on abuse prevention matters, “gifted institutionalization is underexplored” in celebrity advocacy circles. Hilton’s nonprofit launched in November 2025 targets abuse survivors but makes no mention of educational excellence or twice-exceptional students who face their own form of institutional neglect through systematic underfunding.

Economic Consequences Threaten National Competitiveness

The long-term consequences of abandoning gifted education threaten America’s innovation economy and global competitiveness. Rand Corporation estimates the nation faces $500 billion in GDP losses from undereducated high-ability youth. National Science Foundation data shows gifted program alumni drive 40 percent of U.S. patents, yet current policies actively discourage excellence. Johns Hopkins University research documents that gifted students face 25 percent higher dropout risk when educational needs go unmet. Countries like Singapore aggressively recruit American talent with robust gifted programs, creating brain drain from deliberate policy choices. Five states including Florida have begun expanding gifted services through school choice vouchers, demonstrating that conservative education reform can restore excellence while leftist equity obsession continues destroying opportunity for our brightest students.