Legislators bring special-ed contract under scrutiny
By Alice Keesing
Advertiser Education Writer
Legislators yesterday probed details of a Department of Education contract they say may be one example of troublesome conflicts that have emerged as the state tries to improve special education services and comply with the Felix consent decree.
The joint House-Senate special investigative committee focused its attention yesterday on a contract with Big Island company Na Laukoa.
Co-chair Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Kalaeloa, Makaha) said Na Laukoa appeared to get "special treatment" and she wants to find out why.
The contract was granted outside of normal state procurement procedures, using the "extraordinary powers" granted to schools chief Paul LeMahieu by the federal court. And it was granted despite concerns from some department employees about Na Laukoa's ability to do the job.
DOE student support services director Robert Golden yesterday told the committee under oath that he had heard Na Laukoa was unqualified for the work and also had been "abrasive" in former relationships with school staff.
Despite Golden's concerns, which he put in a memo to LeMahieu, Na Laukoa last year became part of a $2.3 million contract granted to Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. Na Laukoa's share of the contract was $612,000. Its role was to provide "technical assistance coordinators" for the 15 school complexes facing the toughest struggle to improve special education services.
Hawai'i's special education system has been under federal court oversight since it signed the consent decree in 1994, agreeing to improve services as required by law. The state must meet certain deadlines by Nov. 1, or face a court takeover of the system.
Alarmed by the millions of dollars being spent on special education, the Legislature this year launched an investigation into the state's efforts to comply.
"The Na Laukoa contract is an example of an unqualified provider, and you have a DOE official reporting this abuse to the federal monitoring team and the federal monitoring team did nothing about it," said committee co-chair Rep. Scott Saiki, D-20th (Kapahulu, Mo'ili'ili).
Golden also told the committee that, although he has not been personally involved with the contract, he has received information "that the technical assistance that has been provided is lacking."
After the hearing, LeMahieu told The Advertiser that, while he believes Na Laukoa was qualified for the job, he shared some of the concerns. In some cases the technical assistance was slow to come on line, he said, and some of the coordinators have not worked out. However, he said he is "more than just pleased" with the overall results of the Na Laukoa program.
Of the 15 school complexes receiving technical assistance, five have gone through the intensive testing that determines if their services to special needs students meet the court's requirements. Three of those complexes passed the test, LeMahieu said, and the other two got halfway there.
What's more, those complexes improved far more than those that did not receive the technical assistance, LeMahieu said.
Reach Alice Keesing at akeesing@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8014.
