Posted on: Monday, April 22, 2002

EDITORIAL
Reduced oversight mustn't hurt special ed

Federal scrutiny over how the state Department of Education serves students with learning problems is easing up now that the DOE has come into passable compliance with federal law.

That's a relief because getting up to speed with the Felix Consent Decree has cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars and entailed exhaustive work.

Even critics of the DOE have to concede that special-education services have improved dramatically. The question is, will they keep it up?

As part of the next phase, court monitor Ivor Groves is likely to be traded in for a new independent monitor who would intervene only if the DOE suffers a relapse.

That scares some who worry that the DOE will revert to its old ways without steady federal oversight. But schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto assures us the DOE will hold up its side of the bargain: "This is a continued obligation by the state to provide services for the children. We won't let it backslide."

We sincerely hope so.

The department came under federal watch in the first place because of a 1993 lawsuit that said the state had neglected the needs of mentally disabled children.

Progress in complying with the Felix Consent Decree that resulted from the lawsuit was so slow that federal Judge David Ezra threatened to put the system in receivership.

That lit a fire under the state. As of the end of March, 243 schools have been brought into line with federal standards.

But that doesn't mean the DOE can kick back.

The department is going to have to prove its commitment to parents of students with special needs, who for years felt as if they were beating their heads against a wall when they asked for help.

The court monitor's report says the state needs to improve the performance of schools with high rates of suspension and low scores, and complete a computerized student performance tracking system, as well as train teachers to use it.

And there's another recommendation that should please lawmakers who complained about the poor accounting of consent decree money.

The court monitor is calling for a quarterly accounting of Felix dollars "to clearly show that resources are being maintained at the local school and complex level ... and that any changes are justified and explained."

By most indications, we're entering a new era in special education in Hawai'i.

Let's not return to the Dark Ages.