PORTLAND (AP) - Reports from the Oregon Department of Education show that half the state's school districts set aside no money for teaching talented and gifted children in the 2001-02 school year.

Final spending numbers for the school year that's just concluded aren't in yet. But spending on talented and gifted programs is predicted to get tighter in the face of statewide budget cuts that have left districts scrimping just to keep school doors open. And that's left parents and educators worrying that some of the state's 45,000 gifted and talented students will fall through the cracks.

"Because these kids are smart, we all figure they can fend for themselves," said Pam Stuebgen, parent of a gifted child in the Bend-La Pine schools. "But they can't. If they are not stimulated, they won't grow."

The story is similar across the state: North Clackamas cut extra instruction for gifted elementary school students. Salem-Keizer cut its testing and laid off a gifted and talented program assistant. And La Grande cut Betty Palmer, its only expert on teaching gifted kids, who says she's not sure what will happen to the brightest children in her district.

"Some energetic teachers will come up with great lessons," she said. "Most will give extra assignments or more of the same. Some, because they are so pressed for time, won't offer anything at all. Students will do what is in front of them."

The federal government doesn't require districts to offer talented and gifted kids special instruction or otherwise treat them differently. And aside from $11 million in grants - which amounts to about $670 per public school district in Oregon - the federal government doesn't provide schools with extra money to teach them.

Oregon, however, requires schools to identify children who are intellectually gifted or academically talented, typically by using IQ or skills tests. State law also requires districts to have written plans for the programs and services they'll provide.

School officials grumble that the state doesn't provide dollars to back these demands. The current state budget includes $200,000 for teacher training in the topic. The money - the state's only contribution to gifted and talented instruction - will disappear under current legislative budget plans.

Not all the news is bad. The passage of an income tax last month means that Multnomah County schools will keep services intact. Moreover, an alternative school for the gifted will open in Portland this fall.

But in Gold Beach, the high school is cutting some honors classes. And the school can't afford to offer advanced placement courses. So Gwen Gazeley, the mother of a gifted son, is moving her family to Eugene, where he can attend private school.

"I'm not blaming the district," she said. "We had to cut 12 school days this year. But my son needs to be challenged. He doesn't need more of the same."