School for Advanced Studies

SAS Permit Application

Schools for Advanced Studies (SAS) is a designation given to resident K-12 schools for exemplary implementation of Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) services and support. The primary purpose of SAS is to establish and nurture gifted/talented demonstration sites at resident schools, in order to share innovative, equitable, and effective GATE practices Districtwide. By providing high-quality differentiated instruction with an emphasis on depth, complexity, acceleration and novelty, SAS sites offer high-level academic opportunities that meet the unique educational needs of K–12 gifted learners, identified in the Intellectual, High Achievement, Specific Academic, Creative and Leadership Ability categories or verified based on critical thinking/achievement.

Students residing within the SAS site’s boundaries: Students residing within the school boundaries of a designated SAS site who meet the eligibility criteria must be placed in the site’s SAS gifted/talented program (unless a parent has opted out). All qualified students residing within school boundaries must be accommodated before any applicants from outside school boundaries are enrolled. No formal application is required for a qualified student residing within school boundaries since SAS is the school site’s GATE instructional program for its students. (Parents/guardians may contact the SAS site directly for more information.)

Students residing outside the SAS site’s boundaries (but within L.A. Unified boundaries): All L.A. Unified students in grades Pre-K–12 who reside outside school boundaries and who meet one of three eligibility criteria are eligible to apply for SAS participation through the Choices process. For SAS applicants, the teacher and principal of a student’s current school of attendance are responsible for determining if the student meets at least one of the three eligibility criteria. (Note: In accordance with District policy, affiliated charter schools and Admission Criteria Schools with the SAS designation do not participate in the Choices application and selection process for SAS; please contact these schools directly for more information.)

For information regarding verification of eligibility, refer to pages 10-12 of the 2019-2020 Choices brochure.