Special ed takeover unlikely
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
Hawai'i's schools will likely avoid a federal court takeover of its special-education services this month, but the schools still have some major hurdles to clear before the special-education system meets national standards.
A federal court monitor overseeing progress in improving special-education services recommends no sanctions against the Department of Education or the Department of Health for now.
The report by monitor Ivor Groves makes it unlikely U.S. District Judge David Ezra would appoint a receiver to take over the schools' special-education programs, as he has threatened to do.
The DOE has fallen behind in hiring and retaining certified special-education teachers. Also, it still does not have a required computer system up and running, Groves reported yesterday in a document filed with the court.
But despite the lingering problems, there is acknowledgment that the state has improved services and has come very close to meeting expectations set by Ezra, with a November deadline.
Nearly 80 percent of Hawai'i students attend schools that have reached full or provisional compliance with Felix standards. Twenty complexes — high schools and their feeder schools — have reached full compliance, and eight have reached provisional compliance. The state was to have 27 of 41 complexes in compliance by Nov. 1.
Jeffrey Portnoy, special court master overseeing compliance, called the report encouraging and said the state has clearly made great progress, especially in the past six months.
With a March deadline for having all the state's schools reach compliance, some of the emphasis is starting to shift to what will happen once the federal court is no longer looking over the state's shoulder, Portnoy said.
Portnoy said he is starting to think about a plan for how the state can keep the level of special-education services up in the 18 to 24 months after the court releases the state from its oversight.
"It's going to have to be a very high-priority item, as it appears there will be substantial compliance by March 31," he said.
Perhaps the most troublesome hurdle for DOE is getting its computerized information system, dubbed ISPED, up and running. Full operation for the system, designed to reduce the paperwork burden on special-education staff, is a year behind schedule.
Recruiting special-education teachers has been complicated by the national shortage of certified teachers , as well as a reluctance among many professionals to move far away from their families since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the monitor's report said.
The DOE was supposed to have 85 percent of its special-education teachers certified by this month. According to DOE projections, 75.5 percent of its special-ed teachers will be certified by the beginning of next year.
Shelby Floyd, an attorney for plaintiffs against the DOE in the Felix case, said she is still concerned about the lack of certified teachers in the classroom. "Some things are floundering," she said.
The state's estimate of 75.5 percent certified teachers is based partially on employment offers that have been extended — not the actual number of certified teachers in the classroom, Floyd said.
So far, the state has spent seven years and hundreds of millions of dollars to comply with the consent decree.
Judge Ezra has had oversight of the school's special-education system since the state signed the consent decree in 1994, agreeing to improve services as required by federal law. The consent decree stemmed from a federal class-action lawsuit that accused the state of ignoring the needs of mentally disabled children.
The state missed a string of deadlines since then — until, in August, Ezra offered one last chance to avoid a takeover. He set a deadline of Nov. 1 to meet certain benchmarks, but is not scheduled to hear the issue in court until the end of the month.
Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.
