Special-education court hearing delayed

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

A federal court hearing in which the state was expected to be found in substantial compliance with the Felix consent decree has been postponed to Sept. 10.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra has continued the hearing, which was supposed to take place Monday morning.

Plaintiffs' attorneys and attorneys for the state will meet late next week with special court master Jeff Portnoy, but were prohibited from further discussing the reasons for the continuance.

Hawai'i's school system has been under the federal court's oversight since the state signed the Felix consent decree in 1994, agreeing to improve special-education services, as required by law.

The state has spent more than $1 billion on Felix efforts and has not yet reached compliance, although federal court officials have indicated for months that the state was likely to be found substantially in compliance at the June hearing.

The cost of Felix has prompted legislators last year to question whether taxpayer dollars are reaching special-needs students.

A special legislative investigative committee headed by Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Barbers Point, Makaha), and Rep. Scott Saiki, D-20th (Kapahulu, Mo'ili'ili), has reconvened and is expected to meet throughout the summer and fall.

A legislative report issued by the group in December led to an investigation by the attorney general's office. On May 15, the O'ahu grand jury indicted a therapeutic aide accused of billing the state for $1,800 in services that were not provided.