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My husband is in the last year of his fellowship and we are in the process of deciding where we will move this summer with our GT preschooler. Does anyone have any experience with the education systems in either of these cities/states? It's likely he's going to have offers in both cities and we will get to choose which one we'd like to move to. I'm trying to figure out which location would offer the best opportunities for gifted programs. Any advice would be appreciated!
In general, many parents find that their gifted children are not well-served by the government school system, which is focused on closing achievement gaps and excellence gaps (therefore may cap the growth of students at the top to accomplish this gap closure: equal outcomes is their goal).

That said, you can browse the gifted laws by State, here, courtesy of the Davidson database.

However if your gifted child also has a diagnosed disability, this would be termed "twice exceptional" (2e), and the information at wrightslaw may help inform you about special ed laws and advocacy, including IEP/504.

The Davidson database has information on choosing a school, including:
- Basic educational options for gifted students in schools
- Choosing the right school for your gifted child (contains "must-ask questions and the answers that you should seek")

Have you had the opportunity to read A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children? Chapter 14 discusses Finding a Good Educational Fit. Included is a Table of Questions more important than "Is my child in a gifted program?", by Dr. Donald Treffinger. His list is also found online at the website of Center for Creative Learning (CCL), as “Dear School People”.

For many gifted children, the best educational "fit" may change from year to year therefore the parents may need to continually reassess the current learning environment, options available, and student placement. Many gifted children are homeschooled for a least a portion of their education. Gifted Homeschoolers Forum (GHF) is a good starting place for gathering information.

When speaking with schools about their support for gifted learners, parents benefit from developing a BS filter to assist them in understanding the many fine statements which may be made. To that end, here is a list of buzzwords and their meanings.

What is the downside of a child not being challenged in school? Students may grow unmotivated by lack of an academic challenge worthy of their potential; They may stop learning and "level out" or underachieve... They may find ways to entertain themselves in class and be labeled as class clowns or disruptive...
- This old post summarizes ten key points made in the linked article: What A Child Doesn't Learn.
- This old post discusses excerpts from a linked article on the downside of having a poor educational/academic "fit".

I hope that something in this roundup of links on "educational fit" may be of help to you in choosing a school.
We were considering moving to KC to be closer to family and I was a bit overwhelmed looking for gifted programs there. The options are complicated by the fact that you have the state line right there so the most important thing to figure out is which state you'd rather be in. The Shawnee Mission School District on the Kansas side seems very large and has a lot of potential options but funding seems to have been gutted in recent years and I'd be anxious about how they treat gifted students who require "extra." The Center district seemed to have an interesting gifted program but for a limited number of years. The city schools have some intriguing options (bilingual schools, for example) but no real gifted programs. The North Kansas City schools seemed the most promising to me but also the furthest from our potential job options, so would have been an issue for us.

We wound up moving elsewhere, so I have no real advice! I just wanted to point out the school districts that piqued my interest when I was considering this same possibility.
I have been a Texan for 13 years but not from Houston. TX is one of a better state for gifted education. But it largely depends on the school district. Houston has many school districts and not all are created equal. There is a gifted school for elementary school in Spring Branch. Most of the schools have gifted education classes in cluster. Houston ISD has magnet program.

http://www.houstonisd.org/Page/120585

Katy and Fort Bend are good as well.

But if your DC is a PG, it will be hard to find a good fit anywhere.

Good luck!
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