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LeMahieu grants
special-education
teachers a break

He has extended teaching
credentials and will hire
retired teachers

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By Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin

State Schools Superintendent Paul LeMahieu has begun using new powers bestowed upon him by a federal judge who is overseeing efforts to improve educational and mental health services to special-needs students.

"The way I'll proceed in every single case is think what really matters, articulate it, and then hold that up against the cases that come before me," LeMahieu said.

LeMahieu so far has extended the teaching credentials for special-education teachers who were on the verge of losing their jobs because they had not yet met state licensing requirements.

He has also started the process to rehire now-retired special-education teachers without them losing retirement benefits.

And his department is about to contract with a national recruiting agency outside the state procurement laws. The Health Department has already done so, he said last night.

The main reason they are going outside procurement is because they have little time to complete all the requirements by the end of next year.

"We will do other things to make sure we maintain the public trust with respect to our fiduciary responsibilities," LeMahieu said.

The new authority given to LeMahieu and state Health Department Director Bruce Anderson comes in the so-called Felix consent decree, which aims to improve special-education services.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra earlier this year found the state in contempt for failing to meet the mandates on time. As a consequence, Ezra ordered that the heads of both departments be given special authority to bypass certain laws to speed compliance of the consent decree.

For example, teachers who don't meet the requirements for a license to teach in a public school classroom are granted a three-year credential that allows them to remain in the classroom while working toward their license.

By law, teachers who aren't licensed within three years could potentially lose their jobs.

A law passed this year allows the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board to extend the credentials for a year for persons who could not complete the licensure requirements because of extenuating reasons.

But with the authority LeMahieu received from Ezra, he also has the power to grant such extensions for special-education teachers. He estimated that he has granted 30 extensions.