to those of a high-income student is half as likely to receive gifted services as the high-income student. Black students are approximately half as likely as White peers with the same mathematics and reading achievement levels to be referred to gifted services. (5) A major barrier for Black and Latino students and students with disabilities to access advanced courses and programs is the over-reliance on subjective criteria, such as the recommendation of teachers and counselors, in the advanced course admittance process. When Denver Public Schools implemented universal screening for gifted and talented programs, Latino students were identified for the program at twice the rate as the year before. (6) Just 1 in 12 students in the United States scored in the top 2 proficiency levels on the 2018 PISA math assessment. This is below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average and less than half the rate of South Korea, Japan, and Switzerland. (7) Public elementary schools and secondary schools face a $305,000,000,000 budget shortfall due to COVID–19 related tax revenue decreases and new COVID–19 related expenses. As school districts prepare to make drastic cuts to educational programming, access to advanced coursework and programs is in jeopardy for millions of students, especially students from underrepresented groups and students attending under-resourced schools. Additional funding and reforms are needed to maintain and expand access to advanced coursework and programs, especially for marginalized students in communities hit hardest by the COVID–19 pandemic. 4. Definitions In this Act: (1) Terms from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 The terms early college high school , elementary school , English learner , gifted and talented , institution of higher education , parent , school leader , secondary school , and State educational agency have the meaning given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 7801 ). (2) Local