House Bill 08-1021 allows Colorado schools to accelerate highly advanced gifted children under age 5 (for kindergarten) and/or under age 6 (for first grade). SJBOCES member districts offer early access to kindergarten or first grade in order to support students who may have exceptional aptitude/cognitive reasoning, academics, school readiness and motivation. The early access process is designed for highly gifted children who require academic acceleration and is not recommended for the majority of 4 or 5 year olds.

 

For details about the application process, contact Nisia Patalan, San Juan BOCES Gifted Education Coordinator, at [email protected]. Applications are due by April 1st, 2026. Applications will be reviewed by a regional Early Access team, and families will be notified of the decision on or before June 1st.