LeMahieu to set
school priorities

A new textbook policy
aims to answer complaints
that students lack books

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

What does Hawaii's public school system need, and what direction does it need to take?

Those are some of the questions school board members and anyone who has a stake in public education are being asked in the next few months as part of an assessment by schools Superintendent Paul LeMahieu.

LeMahieu, in his first Board of Education meeting since he began work three days ago, announced yesterday that he hopes to complete much of the task by January in time for the new legislative session and provide more ammunition for negotiations on the schools budget.

"We're talking about something that sets priorities for the system," he said.

The school board last night addressed one priority of parents by amending its textbook policy. The board is requiring schools to develop a multi-year textbook acquisition and replacement plan.

Board members frequently hear from parents and others who say their schools aren't providing textbooks.

While the policy doesn't necessarily ensure that every student will get a textbook to take home, it places accountability at the schools.

"We're telling schools to be responsible with the money you have, make responsible decisions with what you're allotted, and come up with a plan you can defend to your school community," said board member Denise Matsumoto.

Not all classes may require textbooks. Some teachers prefer to use other materials, such as worksheets.

Teachers and principals decide what priorities they place on instructional materials.

Kalaheo High School parents had gone to the board earlier this year asking the board to establish a statewide textbook standard and to assess the textbook situation at Hawaii's high schools.

Parents had complained that students were unable to complete homework because they weren't being provided with textbooks to take home.

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Librarians who work with
patrons receive sole authority
to select new materials

Branch managers have final say
in the rule approved last night

By Debra Barayuga

Star-Bulletin

Public service librarians will have the sole authority to select books for their libraries.

Branch library managers will coordinate librarians' selections and turn the list over to the acquisitions office, which will order books from one source.

That's state librarian Virginia Lowell's interpretation of what it will be like under a new library administrative rule designed to return book selection to those who are most qualified to do so.

The rule was among dozens of Hawaii State Public Library System administrative rules that went to public hearings in July and was approved by the school board last night.

The particular rule on materials selection was amended to comply with a new law passed last legislative session giving the responsibility back to librarians who had been stripped of those duties under the outsourcing contract with Baker & Taylor.

"This is as close to a win-win situation as we can get at this point," said Kaneohe librarian Deborah Gutermuth. "With (Lowell) at the helm, I don't have a problem."

Librarians had earlier protested a sentence in the proposed rule that gave branch library managers "final overall authority" to approve all book selections. A deputy attorney general had insisted the sentence be included so as to avoid potential liability for library employees who may enter into contracts with vendors.

Some librarians felt giving branch managers final authority on selection undermined them as professionals. "It knocks the professionalism of each and every one with master's degrees," Gutermuth told board members last night.

There's also the potential of abuse by someone in power over those without power, she said.

Lowell, also a public service librarian, believes selection is the most important role of the public service librarian and feels the way the rule is worded does not take away that responsibility.

"I say consider it not as a professional selection issue but an administrative efficiency issue," she said.

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Deputy schools chief might
oversee special services

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

The state Department of Education has worked hard to provide appropriate educational services to students with disabilities, said Koolauloa parent Lonia Burroughs.

But decision-making is so far removed from the children who need services that it's difficult for the system to be effective, she said.

The Department of Health has carried out a system that, while it isn't perfect, has given her 12-year-old son Ryan, who has autism, the additional therapy he needs.

Burroughs hopes the Department of Education's response to a management and accountability study will reflect a shift in attitude. "That people are not trying to get what they don't deserve, and that they're trying to obtain services they never had and had a legal right to," she said. "Because if there wasn't a problem, we wouldn't be in a consent decree."

The Department of Education has proposed organizational changes it hopes will entrust someone with authority for implementing the Felix consent decree and improve its efforts in providing appropriate educational services to children with disabilities by June 2000.

Among the department's proposals:

By Sept. 10, the deputy superintendent's top priority will be compliance with the Felix consent decree. The deputy superintendent will work closely with district superintendents who supervise the district educational specialists and other staff responsible for ensuring that children are getting the services they are entitled to.

By Sept. 15, a director of program compliance will be designated as the department's point person for day-to-day monitoring of Felix operations and activities, including interacting with other DOE offices and district and school personnel concerning consent decree issues.

Increase recruitment and retention of special-education teachers and speech therapists through a memorandum of agreement with the University of Hawaii's College of Education and School of Medicine; expand the Department's RISE program to certify 90 teachers in special education annually; increase recruitment in other schools that provide special-education programs, and recruitment of certified teachers from out of state or licensed teachers currently teaching in other fields.

Reduce the number of children being sent out of state by 15 percent each year by developing treatment facilities and programs here.

Provide training during the 1998-99 school year for principals, vice principals and general and special-education teachers on the needs and provision of services to children with disabilities.

By Oct. 15, examine and clarify the role of the Felix complaints resolution office to correct the backlog of complaints and inadequate follow-up actions.

The department's proposals are in response to a study ordered by federal judge David Ezra in January amid concerns that the department was not aggressively pursuing its responsibilities under the Felix consent decree.

The study, released in July, was to identify barriers holding back the department and to make recommendations. The department's response to the study was due in federal court July 31.

The consent decree was the result of a class-action lawsuit filed in May 1993 on behalf of Jennifer Felix and other children against the state for failing to provide adequate educational and mental health services for children with special needs or disabilities.

While schools Superintendent Paul LeMahieu expressed disappointment that it has taken the department this long to reach this point, he felt the plan can be the solution.

"The department has not mounted a serious effort with real integrity to address requirements of the consent decree," he said. "We're three years into this, and I think we're now getting serious about this in a new way. I'm proud of us because we're at last doing that."

LeMahieu's biggest concern now is securing and dedicating resources to enable the department to implement its proposals.

The school board last night strongly endorsed the plan and the department's efforts to secure funding from the Legislature. "The board doesn't want to see the resources come out of the regular education program, and neither do we," LeMahieu said.

"We're trying to enable and empower the organizational structure to respond rapidly to implementation and shoot for June 30, 2000," said Douglas Houck, special-education administrator for the Department of Education. "We are in progress."