LaVanway, Ann2024-01-052024-01-052022-05https://hdl.handle.net/11299/259755University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. May 2022. Major: Educational Policy and Administration. Advisor: Peter Demerath. 1 computer file (PDF); ix, 188 pages.In Minnesota, most Students of Color and Indigenous Students are identified as gifted at rates lower than their White peers. Despite the presence of state level legislation and a state level budget for gifted education, school districts across Minnesota fall short in identifying many students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). This mixed methods study was conducted via an online survey and group interviews of members of the Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented and a gifted school located in the Twin Cities metro area. Preliminary findings suggest that parental advocacy plays a meaningful role in gifted identification as well as accessing gifted programming for P-12 students. Available social capital and cultural capital influence the ways in which family members of gifted students navigate the identification process. For many families, this includes knowing who to ask for support, what questions to ask, and pursuing resources outside of the school or district with their own time and money. The lack of transparency regarding gifted identification combined with a lack of teacher training and inadequate policy lead to a murky identification process which negatively impacts BIPOC students and must be scrutinized to make gifted education more accessible via revised policy and updated, inclusive identification practices.eneducation policyeducational equityfamily involvmentgifted educationThesis or Dissertation