Special ed
efforts said to
be lacking

The federal monitor for the
Felix consent decree says the state
could lose the 'race'
to compliance

By Helen Altonn
Star-Bulletin

With only 10 months before a crucial deadline, the federal court's monitor for development of education and mental health services for Hawaii's special-needs children gives the system a C+ grade.

"There is effort. I don't think people appreciate how big a hole there was in the first place," Ivor Groves said at a status hearing on the Felix consent decree yesterday in U.S. District Court.

Groves said he doesn't expect the state to be in full compliance by the court's deadline next July. But substantial compliance could be achieved if funds aren't cut and personnel recruitment and retention, training and other major problems are addressed, he said.

He said it's critical that state Health Director Bruce Anderson and state Schools Superintendent Paul LeMahieu "have the authority to cut through barriers to get the right people at the right time."

"Essentially, we're in a race now. Either we're going to cut through bureaucratic barriers, or we're not. If we don't, we're going to lose," Groves said

U.S. court may take over

A lawsuit filed in 1993 for Jennifer Felix and other children alleged the state had failed to comply with federal laws requiring adequate mental health, education and other services for disabled children. The state agreed to a 1994 consent decree ordering improvements.

District Court Chief Judge David Ezra told a packed courtroom yesterday that while the court is giving the state time to work on the issues, it will take "forceful and definite action" if the law's requirements aren't met.

Attorney Jeffrey Portnoy, the court's special master for the Felix consent decree who conducted the informational hearing, warned that "modest compliance will not remove court oversight. ... The state must prove substantial compliance."

Otherwise, he said, "the federal court has the power to take over and run special education in Hawaii regardless of collective bargaining and other matters."

'Culture of resistance'

Some parents feel little progress is being made, and they criticized Groves yesterday for becoming "politicized."

"What the monitor reports is paper compliance," said Steve Bowen, parent of a child with autism. "The monitor needs to look at what's happening, not just documents from the state."

"The reality ... is, they're (state departments) failing miserably," said Lee Grossman, who also has a child with autism and has long been involved with the system.

Improvements and concerns were reported by Russell Suzuki -- representing the attorney general's office -- Anderson, LeMahieu and the plaintiffs' attorneys, Shelby Floyd and Eric Seitz.

They agreed the state has a long way to go, citing problems in recruiting and retaining teachers, quality of training, little consistency, lack of accountability and responsibility.

About 80 children are in mainland facilities because local services haven't been developed.

Serious problems were pointed out on the Big Island and Molokai and in other rural areas. Floyd noted a "culture of resistance and mediocrity we see in pockets on the Big Island and elsewhere."

Seitz said the attorneys will go back to court to resolve problems on the Big Island if the DOE doesn't make changes there by the end of next week. "Leadership in high places, frankly, is not committed to doing what should be done."

Invited by Portnoy to speak, parents and teachers from across the state cited problems of coordination, inconsistencies and failure of the state agencies to get community and parental input.

"The community has not been involved in any major decision related to the system," said Larry Geller, representing the Hawaii Coalition for Health.