The Paraguayan Senate passed the bill creating the National Registry of Students with High Intellectual Abilities, commonly known as "gifted students." The proposal, which had already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies, was sent to the Executive Branch for enactment or veto.
The text provides for the identification, registration, and support of these students in basic and higher education, with mandatory and universal application for public, private, and state-subsidized private institutions at all levels. The Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC), in coordination with municipal governments and departmental administrations, will be responsible for establishing the criteria and psychoeducational assessment mechanisms to identify students with high intellectual abilities, as well as promoting teacher training.
The bill was championed by Liberal deputies Luis Federico Franco Alfaro and Carlos Alberto Pereira Rieve, along with Colorado Party member María Cristina Villalba. During the Senate vote, the attempt to reject the proposal failed to secure the required 30 votes, garnering only 15.
Senators opposed to the bill argued that the legislation would create unnecessary duplication, since the Inclusive Education Law already stipulates the creation of a national registry of students with high intellectual abilities and empowers the MEC to enter into agreements with departmental and municipal governments for the joint development of the identification and follow-up process.