The 1980 General Assembly passed House Joint Resolution No. 164 which requested that a joint subcommittee of the Education Committee of the House of Delegates and the Education and Health Committee of the Senate be established to study the status and needs of gifted and talented school children in the Commonwealth.

The joint subcommittee held several meetings during the interim and received testimony from many professional and lay associations interested in gifted education, several school divisions, educators of the gifted, parents, recognized experts in gifted education, and the Department of Education.