Felix expert may A witness who was originally off limits to a legislative investigative committee may end up testifying on what she knows about the Felix consent decree.
testify after all
State lawmakers want to hear
from a witness on compliance
issues for special educationBy Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.comThe Joint Senate-House Investigative Committee authorized its lawyers yesterday to negotiate the terms for Judith A. Schrag's testimony.
"I think it's more likely than not that she will testify," said Rep. Scott Saiki (D, McCully), co-chairman of the committee, which began its first day of work of the current session after the Legislature gave the green light for the committee to gear up again.
Schrag is the former member of a now-defunct panel that provided technical assistance to state agencies involved in compliance issues related to the federal consent decree, which mandates improvements to special-education services.
Besides Schrag, Felix court monitor Ivor Groves and mental health expert Lenore Behar were also appointed to the panel by U.S. District Judge David Ezra.
The committee originally issued a subpoena last year for Schrag, the former special-education director with the U.S. Department of Education, to appear and testify, but that subpoena was blocked by Ezra, who also granted protective orders prohibiting Groves and his assistant, Juanita Iwamoto, from committee appearances.
The committee then filed legal actions -- including a federal lawsuit -- to enforce the committee's subpoena and secure Schrag's testimony. The committee also unsuccessfully tried to get Ezra removed from presiding over the subpoena issue.
Saiki said U.S. Magistrate Barry Kurren, who is now overseeing the subpoena issues instead of Ezra, held a status conference recently with the attorneys representing the parties to discuss the Schrag subpoena.
"I think there's recognition at the federal court level that the subpoena is appropriate," Saiki said.
"The impression I get is that Judge Kurren probably feels that the investigative committee has a right to proceed," said Sen. Colleen Hanabusa (D, Waianae), co-chairwoman of the investigative committee.
Hanabusa and Saiki said the committee wants to hear from Schrag because she, Groves and Behar were around from the time the 1994 consent decree came to be.
The state faces a crucial deadline on March 31 to come into compliance with remaining requirements of the consent decree.
Schrag, who had been represented by the U.S. attorney's office in proceedings dealing with the subpoenas, will now be represented by a private attorney because the Justice Department is being asked by Ezra to review the investigative committee's report for possible criminal wrongdoing.