One lawmaker is trying to change things. In the last two years, at least four school districts dropped their gifted programs. Now a bill sponsored by Rep. Sara Lampe could make it possible for schools to provide services for gifted students. She wants to see gifted education become a priority in Missouri schools.

Lampe is sponsoring a bill that would earmark a portion of school funding for gifted programming.

"We want to make sure there is designated money for gifted education programs, and as a result of that, we can have some guarantee that school districts that chose to serve gifted children will have the money to do that with," Lampe said.

Jefferson City Public Schools already have a program for gifted students. Administrators say these services can make a difference.

"Students who are gifted really benefit from this because it keeps them connected with the schools," said David Luther, the school-community relations director for Jefferson City Public Schools. "Quite frankly, students who are gifted, if they don't receive the challenges that they need, often they can end up being dropouts."

Lampe added that her 31 years working in education have made her passionate about gifted programming. She is pushing the bill for the third time and hoping this time it will lead to legislation.

"We have ignored the needs of gifted children for far too long," Lampe said.

For 35 years, gifted education had its own line item in state funding. However, three years ago lawmakers put all school funding into a single category without designations for specific programming. Lampe wants to reverse that change so money will be available for schools that want to establish special programs or services for gifted students.