There are no gifted IEPs here, and the laws about gifted are pretty pathetic, I think that is probably the difference. Like I said "progress" doesn't matter, it only matters if the kid drops so far they aren't meeting the standards or passing the state tests. Interesting how different locales think differently. I agree, that if a teacher just wants obedience, it's useless trying to advocate in terms of what the child wants, or their feelings. Luckily we haven't encountered that too much.