While Hawaii public schools have had few requests for student transfers under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, preliminary reports show they have received 2,706 valid applications requesting after-school academic services. Requests for school services
top 2,700The applications come under the federal
No Child Left Behind ActStar-Bulletin staff
"People are determining the best chance for helping their children is to leave them there (at their schools) and receive supplemental education services," said Greg Knudsen, state Department of Education spokesman.
Those supplemental education services include after-school tutoring, remedial classes or summer school in reading, language arts and math.
The applications come from a fraction of the 48,000 students enrolled in the 82 Hawaii schools affected by the federal mandate.
Under the new law, the department must identify schools that meet federal poverty guidelines and did not make adequate yearly progress in meeting academic standards and other school quality measures for two or more consecutive years.
The DOE is required to pay for transportation for students who want to attend better schools or for supplemental education services.
Preliminary reports indicate schools had actually received 3,085 applications, but 379 came from ineligible students.
The schools reported receiving only 131 transfer applications by the Sept. 31 deadline.
Knudsen said the department had expected more parents would ask for transfers than education services.
Molokai students, though eligible to transfer, have no options, Knudsen said, and will receive supplemental services. For students elsewhere, having to travel great distances to another school may make transferring prohibitive.
The state has about $6 million in federal funds to pay for supplemental education services and to transport eligible students to other schools.
The department is compiling a list of approved providers for the services and plans to offer such services by Oct. 28.
Only low-income students are eligible for services, with priority being given to those with the greatest academic need.
For more information, go to the U.S. No Child Left Behind Web site at doe.k12.hi.us/nclb.
State Department of Education
