What is the Current Situtation with Special Education Programs here in Hawaii and Who does it Impact?

There are many issues regarding the Current Situation of Special Education Programs here in Hawaii.

The current situation regarding Special Education here in Hawaii is actually pretty good. In fact, according to the U.S Education Department’s fist nation report card it is one of only nine states (among Alaska, Connecticut, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Wyoming) that are currently fully meeting federal requirements outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Over 4/5 of the states in the US are not meeting these federal requirements. However, Hawaii proudly stands among the small percentage of states that are actually meeting these requirements in the nation's Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and No Child Left Behind Act (see national portion). (http://startbulletin.com/2007/06/21/new/story04.html)

Hawaii has attained a well-developed special education program, which complies with the special needs of students from ages 3 through 21. Here in Hawaii the public education services offered for special education children have greatly improved over the past decade and are more widely available and accessible. Hawaii has experienced a major turn around in its provided services. Ever since the lawsuit regarding Jennifer Felix, a disabled student, was filled in 1993, many improvements have been made to improve the special education program and services. These improvements include providing more qualified teachers, increasing government spending on public special education, providing services at younger age, and creating a system to efficiently identify children with special needs. The result of this lawsuit was government intervention in the form of the Felix Consent Decree. The Felix Consent Decree basically states that any child with a disability has the right to an education by the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. States school’s superintendent, Pat Hamamoto stated in 2005, "I will be forever grateful for (the consent decree), because it taught us about good educational systems, how to help students, and how to pull together for the children. I really believe it was a blessing in disguise." (Special ed better, yet still burdened http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Jun/01/ln/ln01p.html)

Over a decade ago in 1993 when the Felix Consent Decree was filled, the state’s special education programs for children with special needs and learning disabilities were severely under funded and understaffed. As a result many changes and improvements have been installed in all areas of Hawaii’s special education programs. However, in 2005 the decree was officially dismissed. Since the decree has been dismissed, improvements continue to be made and millions of dollars are still dedicated to these programs. Without this lawsuit filled in 1993 Hawaii would not have most likely received the “jump start” necessary to improve these programs.

Special Education Funding:
The the increasing demand for special education has called for an increase in supply. As a result the overall spending on special education has changed from $75 million in 1994 to an increased budget of $306 million for the 2005- 2006 school year. The Health Department's special education funding has also increased from $22 million to $89 million during this same time period. 22 percent of Hawaii’s Public School budget is allocated towards special education programs. In fact the state spends twice the amount of money on a special education student than it would on a regular student. Many local citizens have criticized the large increase in special needs funding because funding has increased at a more rapid rate than funding for regular education. (http://starbulletin.com/2005/06/01/news/story4.html) (“The Felix decree spurs the state to create a comprehensive system”
http://starbulletin.com/2004/04/18/news/story5.html)

http://starbulletin.com/2004/04/18/news/story5.html

Number of students in the program:
Over the past decade more students have been identified as special needs children, giving more children the special attention needed for them to learn. This is due to a special system that has been developed and enhanced to identify children with theses learning disabilities and special needs inside and outside of the classroom. This improvement has allowed more children to become adequately educated over the past 15 years improving the overall economy. The percentage of public school students in special education programs have grown from 7 percent to 12 percent in the time since the Felix lawsuit was filled in 1993. (“The Felix decree spurs the state to create a comprehensive system”
http://starbulletin.com/2004/04/18/news/story5.html)

http://starbulletin.com/2004/04/18/news/story5.html

Starting at a Young Age:
Hawaii has also been recognized for offering services to children beginning in preschool
(3 years old). Special programs have been developed to recognize disabilities from a young age and deal with the individual needs of these children by creating individualized programs for each student. This has allowed children to receive a more effective learning program at an earlier age.

While it is obvious that many improvements have been made to the system. Faults still exists and improvements have yet to me made in a variety of areas (see next section for more detail).

To review specific/ extensive cases of complaints go to:

DOE- special education reports of complaints


DOE- special education quarterly reports



Who does this impact?
The current situation with Special Education Programs here in Hawaii impacts a wide variety of people ranging from the individuals with disabilities to average local citizens. The students who are currently in these programs are directly affected by the current situation regarding special education here in Hawaii. Because funding has increased programs have been developed. As a result the quality of education has improved and the horizon of academic opportunity for these children have greatly increased. This will allow more students in Hawaii to gain a quality education, which will in the end allow them to grow up into prominent and enlightened individuals. The presence of adequate special education programs in Hawaii offer its participants and future and provide them with the ability and knowledge to go to college and pursue a career.

Your average student who does not receive the aid from public special education programs is also impacted by Hawaii’s current situation. Over the past decade funding for these special education programs has multiplied and increased significantly. However, the high funding provided for these special education programs indirectly takes resources and opportunities away from the regular public school students. Because these large sums of money are spent on the small percentage of disabled children, less money can be allocated towards Hawaii’s public schools to provide for their regular students. This is a very large opportunity cost for the installation and maintenance of successful special education programs.

The current situation also impacts the local citizens and tax payers here in Hawaii. The increased funding for public special education programs comes from tax payers’ money. The increase in the amount of money invested in these programs has contributed to the rise in tax dollars taxpayers have to pay each year. Also this brings up another opportunity cost because the amount of tax payers’ money delegated towards these special education programs could have other wise been used for other service which are more readily used by the public majority.

Overall, Hawaii’s Public Special Education programs have made significant development and improvement over the past 15 years after the lawsuit filled by Jennifer Felix in 1993. However, there are still many improvements to be made and winkles to be ironed out.

For more information visit these RELATED LINKS:

DOE Annual Performance Report & State Performance Plan


DOE- SPECIAL EDUCATION WEBSITE


Hawaii Legislative reference bureau- Felix Consent Decree
























Lauren T- 2:30 Economics (November 12 2007)