How Does a Child Get Into Frisco ISD's Gifted Program?

Frisco ISD's gifted/talented (G/T) program runs on short referral windows, and the next one is the one families get wrong. January 5-19, 2027, is a single referral window that serves two different school years. A kindergartner referred in that window is screened for placement this school year, 2026-27. A student in grades 1-11 referred in the same window is screened for next school year, 2027-28. Same dates, same 3:00 p.m. CST close, different years.

The fall window has already passed: August 12-25, 2026, was an open referral only for students in grades 1-12 who were new to Frisco ISD. And one door opens on its own. For grades 1, 3, and 5, the district uses abilities-test scores from district-wide testing, and campus G/T teachers reach out to the students who meet the score criteria. That invitation comes to you.

One caution before any of these dates goes on your calendar: the district prints "Dates are subject to change" on the referral calendar itself, twice. Check the current calendar the week you act, and take questions to your campus G/T teacher - that is where the calendar itself sends them.

The door that closed: fall was for new families

The 2026-27 calendar opened the year with one fall window: August 12-25, 2026, closing at 3:00 p.m. CST. It was an open referral for grades 1-12, and only for students new to Frisco ISD; the calendar prints no fall window for returning students. That door is shut, and it screened new students for the current year, 2026-27.

A family arriving now has not lost referral entirely. The wait is only until January, and which year a January referral serves depends only on the child's grade. The calendar we read covers 2026-27; a family planning around next fall should watch for the district's next calendar.

One January window, two school years

The referral calendar prints January 5-19, 2027, twice, and that is not a typo. Once under "2026-2027 G/T Program Placement": the open referral window for kindergarten students. Once under "2027-2028 G/T Program Placement": the open referral window for grades 1-11. Which door is yours depends on nothing but your child's grade.

Kindergarten: refer in January and screening is for the current year. A kindergartner can still be placed for 2026-27.

Grades 1-11: refer in the same January window and screening is for 2027-28. The result lands in the next school year, not this one.

Both listings close at 3:00 p.m. CST on January 19, 2027. One rule sits under the 2027-2028 heading: students in grades 1-11 who completed the entire screening process in fall 2026 are not eligible for spring 2027 screening. One full screening per year is the shape of it.

Frisco's windows are short, about two weeks each, and the subject-to-change line sits under these dates too. Our gifted referral deadlines guide compares how districts shape these windows; put the January close on the family calendar with the clock time, not just the day.

The automatic door: grades 1, 3, and 5

For three grades, the district's outreach does not wait for a parent's form. The referral calendar says that abilities-test scores from district-wide test administrations are used as part of screening for grades 1, 3, and 5, and that campus G/T teachers will automatically reach out to the students in those grades who met the score criteria. Those sentences sit under the calendar's 2027-2028 heading: the automatic route, like the January grades 1-11 referral, screens for next school year.

The test behind this sits on the district's 2026-27 testing calendar (updated August 27, 2026): district-wide CogAT windows for exactly those three grades. The Grade 5 window runs September 14-29, 2026. Grade 3 runs October 15-30, 2026. Grade 1 runs November 5-20, 2026. All three happen at elementary schools, and that calendar carries the same warning: dates are subject to change. If you want to know what the CogAT asks at each grade, our grade-by-grade CogAT guide walks it.

Two things the referral calendar does not print: the score criteria (no score numbers appear anywhere on it) and its own test dates. For both, the calendar names your contact - the campus G/T teacher.

FAQs

We just moved to Frisco and missed the August window. Do we wait a whole year?

Not to refer. The calendar restricts the January listings by grade only; it prints no new-to-district or returning-student rule on either one. So refer January 5-19, 2027, like everyone else. What you cannot get back is the year: a child in grades 1-11 referred in January is screened for 2027-28, while the August window screened new students for 2026-27.

My child was in the gifted program in our old district. Does that transfer to Frisco ISD?

The referral calendar does not address transfers - it is silent on out-of-district identification. Ask the campus G/T teacher whether your child's prior identification carries any weight in screening, and refer in the January window regardless (kindergarten through grade 11); the referral is the door the calendar prints.

My child went through screening this fall. Can we refer again in January?

Not if the process finished. The calendar's note: students in grades 1-11 who completed the entire screening process in fall 2026 are not eligible for spring 2027 screening. The word carrying weight is "entire" - the calendar does not define what counts as completing the process, so a family whose fall screening stopped partway should ask the campus G/T teacher whether the January door is open to them.

My child is in grade 2. Is there a CogAT window for them?

Not a district-wide one. The 2026-27 testing calendar prints CogAT windows for grades 1, 3, and 5 only; no grade 2 or grade 4 window appears on it. The abilities-score outreach named on the referral calendar covers those same three grades. For every other grade through 11, the road in is the referral window.

If my 3rd grader meets the score, do we still file a referral?

The calendar says campus G/T teachers will automatically reach out to grade 1, 3, and 5 students who met the criteria, but it does not say whether that outreach replaces the referral form. Ask the G/T teacher after scores come back, and keep January 5-19, 2027, on your calendar as the backstop either way.

Why does the deadline say 3:00 p.m.?

Frisco's referral windows close at 3:00 p.m. CST, mid-afternoon on a school day, not midnight. A form you planned to file after work on the last day misses. Set the reminder for the morning of the close, or the week before.

We came from Plano. Is this the same system?

No. Plano runs its gifted program (PACE) on its own referral cycle and moves advanced math through separate doors, including an invitation-based program and a credit-by-exam route. Our Plano ISD guide walks those. District rules do not travel; read your own district's calendar down to the clock time.