TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary Mission and Function

Membership

1999-2000 Committee Reports with Recommendations

Additional Recommendations

Executive Summary

The Federal law--the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997--mandates the establishment of a State advisory panel on the education of children with disabilities. The Special Education Advisory Council serves this purpose in the State of Hawaii.

During the 1999-2000 fiscal year the Special Education Advisory Council (Council) held monthly meetings. Meetings included informational presentations and reports from the Department of Education, Center on Disability Studies/University Affiliated Program, and the University of Hawaii and committee discussions. This has allowed the Council to remain current on issues that have an impact on educating children with disabilities. Presentation topics included:

Council member activities included participation on the steering committee for the Offfice of Special Education Programs Continuous Improvement Monitoring Process, and attendance at various workshops offered by the Department of Education and other State agencies. The Council also submitted to the Hawaii Legislature letters of support for the funding of 405 additional speech-language pathology positions requested in the Department of Education budget, for an additional 260 teacher positions and for the homebound program for the students of Hawaii Center for the Deaf and the Blind.

Additionally, at the beginning of the 1999-2000 fiscal year Council members formed three committees to focus on identified areas of need:

The committee reports are provided in the 1999-2000 Committee Reports section of this document.

Mission and Function

The mission of the Council is to guide and assist the Hawaii Department of Education in fulfilling its responsibility to meet the individual needs of children with disabilities in accordance with the state and federal laws.

The functions of the Council are as follows:

• To advise the Department of Education of unmet needs and any other issues or concerns within the State in the education of students with disabilities.
• To comment publicly on the rules or regulations proposed for issuance by the State regarding the education of children with disabilities.
• To advise the Department of Education in developing evaluations and reporting on data to the Secretary of Education, U.S. Department of Education, in the performance of his/her responsibilities under Section 618 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
• To advise the Department of Education in developing corrective action plans to address findings identified in the Federal monitoring reports.
• To advise the Department of Education in developing and implementing policies relating to the coordination of services for children with disabilities.
• To monitor the implementation of activities and timetable pursuant to consent decrees or court orders regarding the education of children with disabilities.

Membership

Ms. Carla Chang*, Teacher, Honolulu District, DOE

Mr. Patrick Chu, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Department of Human Services

Ms. Sharon Cushing*, Counselor, Windward Oahu District, Charter School

Ms. Mary Ellis, Parent, Central Oahu

Ms. Mary Ann Gallup, Parent, Island of Hawaii

Mr. Robert Golden, Student Support Services Group, Department of Education

Mr. Ray Hart, Teacher, Maui District, Hawaii State Teachers Association

Mr. Henry Hashimoto, Community Representative, Island of Kauai

Dr. Douglas Houck, Program Support & Development, Department of Education

Ms. Suzanne Kashiwaeda, Parent, DOE Social Worker, Island of Kauai

Mr. Alexander Lewis, Jr., Special Services Section, Department of Education

Mr. Tom Maedo, Office of Youth Services, Department of Human Services

Ms. Rachel Matsunobu, Parent, Island of Maui

Dr. Dennis McDougall, Department of Special Education, University of Hawaii

Ms. Georgia Morikawa, Consumer, Aloha State Association of the Deaf

Ms. Eileen Muraoka, Special Education/Special Services, Maui District Office, DOE

Ms. LaVernne Nakamura, Parent, Windward Oahu

Ms. Valery O'Brien, Parent, East Oahu

Ms. Barbara Pretty, Itenerant Teacher/Hearing Impaired, Windward Oahu District, DOE

Dr. Jeanne Prickett, Hawaii Center for the Deaf and the Blind, DOE

Ms. Judi Radwick (Ms. Mahea Edwards, alternate), Special Education Section, Hawaii District, DOE

Ms. Jeanne Reinhart, Child Welfare Services & Program Development, Dept. of Human Services

Ms. Sharon Rose*, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Division, Department of Health

Dr. Robert Stodden (Dr. Jean Johnson, alternate), Center on Disibility Students, UH

Ms. Sachiko Taketa, Children with Special Needs Branch, Family Health Services Division, DOH

Ms. Maureen Tito, Educational Program Services, Adult Corrections, Department of Public Safety

Mr. Garrett Toguchi, Liaison, Board of Education

Ms. Kathleen Vierra*, Special Education Section, Hawaii District Office, DOE

Ms. Jasmine Williams, Parent, West Honolulu, Learning Disabilities Association of Hawaii

Mr. Stanley Yee*, Developmental Disabilities Division, DOH

*Resigned. We wish them well and thank them for their valuable contributions to the Special Education Advisory Council.

1999-2000 Committee Reports

• Comprehensive Student Support System Committee
• Justice Committee
• Training Committee

Comprehensive Student Support System Committee Report

Chairperson - Suzanne Kashiwaeda

OUTCOME #1: CSSS established at each school.

Activities:

• Geri Ichimura provided update on CSSS
• Schools are using CSSS positions differently, depending upon individual school needs and resources
• Resource Teachers at larger schools are often overwhelmed by multiple responsibilities
• Members attended CSSS Workshop featuring Howard Adelman

Recommendations:

OUTCOME #2: Establish a mechanism or process to share information (issues, successful practices, resources) among schools, complexes and key decision makers to ensure quality of service.

Activities:

• Student guest speaker from Pearl City High School
• Report by Bob Stodden on State Improvement Grant
• Overview by Debra Farmer on the Hawaii Content and Performance Standards
• Members attended Learning Disability Workshop
• Harvey Ouchi on data collection (largest special education group is the specific learning disability category
• Geri Ichimura on CSSS, including a website for tracking purposes

Recommendations:

• Develop mechanism/process for special education students to give input about curriculum, instruction, placement, and supports
• Regarding CSSS website, need discussion on how to protect student confidentiality
• Regarding ISPED and other data collection systems (i.e. Kaua'i Mokihana project), discuss and address parent right to know and give informed consent to having computerized information and related confidentiality issues
• Adapt service testing model, including more parent involvement, as a quality assurance, assessment tool; incorporate into Continuous Improvement Process
• Review for impact of standards on special education students (how much can they be "individualized" for students, especially severely disabled?)
• Continue to monitor alternative assessments in language arts and math for special education students (Honolulu District's pilot)
• Incorporate cutting edge brain/learning research into evaluation and teaching methodology (i.e. naming speed)
• Curriculum must be culturally meaningful, school-to-work influenced
• Range of placements must be developed to meet diverse needs of students

OUTCOME #3: Establish links between general and special education, department of health, private providers, and families

Activities:

• Updates on Felix Monitoring
• Confidentiality, disclosure of highly sensitive, sometimes erroneous information in clinical psychological evaluations
• Input from director of Hawaii Center for Deaf and Blind

Recommendations:

• Provide joint training for parents and staff: Hawaii Content & Performance Standards, Chapter 56 and Extended School Year, Positive Behavioral Supports, CSSS, Building partnerships for mutual child-focused advocacy
• Update parent guide to help parents understand the process, procedures and empower families
• Provide information on CSSS philosophy and services to families via brochure written in parent-friendly language.
• Develop alternative format for parent input besides CCC's
• Until mental health providers are trained in educational model of assessment and treatment, adopt an interim protection measure (i.e. have clinical psychological reports reviewed by parent and have parental consent for further distribution)
• Promote inclusion in "group therapy" and avoid having only Felix class students in support groups.
• Involve PCNC in collaboration with training and parent involvement in special education issues
• Continue support for Hawaii Center for Deaf and Blind, including escorts for students from Neighbor Islands
• Identify and make available master teachers as mentors
• Review higher education training to include methodology to teach specific learning disabled students and provide effective behavior supports for all students.

Justice Committee Report

Chairperson - Maureen Tito

Students who are at risk require special attention. Since the Department of Education's mission is to educate all children, it must provide a general education combined with skill building in communication, interpersonal relations and cognitive behavior in order to create a positive learning environment in which all students can learn. The committee examined three key areas in which this skill building is critical for special education students who are involved or in danger of becoming involved in the criminal justice system. These areas include appropriate discipline, student mobility and prevention programs. This report outlines the problem in each area followed by a host of recommendations that address specific areas of need and concern.

Appropriate Discipline

There are an increasing number of pre-adolescent and adolescent children with special needs involved with the Family Court System. These individuals are often remanded to Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility or are placed in group homes. These environments are not appropriate for children with special needs. The zero tolerance policy has moved the notion of discipline from one of teaching behavioral skills to punishment. Children who act out are more likely to receive school suspensions and or expulsions than counseling. As children get older, suspensions tend to reinforce negative behavior. A series of suspensions means time out of school for each incident. This type of action limits the child aceess to free and appropriate education. Appropriate education must include skills in behavior modification and counseling which provides for positive behavioral supports.

Recommendations:

1. Schools must put the needs of the child first and carefully examine the factors leading up to disciplinary action. Prior to issuing a final ruling on disciplinary action, parents and other members of the IEP team must be consulted. Since the schools role is to educate, the school must examine its role in providing appropriate skill building tools for the child in order to positively change the behavior. Punishment is not a function of education and should be left to the parents.

2. The Department of Education maintain comprehensive records on the interventions taken leading to a final disciplinary action. Although there exists data on disciplinary hearings, this information is not broken by categories such as the cause of action, gender, ethnicity or program. Such information would provide an excellent measure of effectiveness for effective discipline programs and interventions.

Mobility

Children with special needs involved in the criminal justice system move in and out of home placements and institutional programs. This makes it extremely diffcult to provide adequate services. In addition to this, these children are often involved with more than one social service agency such as Child Protective Services, Family Court, Juvenile Probation, Vocational Rehabilitation and Mental Health Services to name a few.

The absence of a central record keeping system and confidentiality issues limit access to records. This in turn limits the availability of information into the hands of those who provide direct services to the child.

Recommendations:

1. The Department of Education must develop a central record keeping system that is accessible to those providing the services to children in the criminal justice system.

2. The Department of Education must work collaboratively with both private and state agencies to meet the needs of children with special needs involved in the criminal justice system by providing effective transition programs that return the child to school or to other alternative programs.

3. The Department of Education through the CSSS Coordinator should assign a counselor to follow the student and ensure that transition needs are met.

4. The Department of Education is obligated to routinely provide an orientation in IDEA for private and state agencies involved in meeting the needs of special education students.

Prevention Programs

Effective intervention and prevention programs are critical in the early stages when the manifestations of anti-social behavior begin to arise. By the same token, all children must be taught values that promote peace and tolerance for all individuals. Intervention and prevention programs go beyond discipline. Too often children with special needs are referred to mental health and social services based on disciplinary issues alone. Advocacy for programs that address beliefs, values and behavior is critical and separate from issues arising out of disciplinary action. The effective behavioral supports model has proven to be highly effective with special needs children. This model provides a solid foundation upon which to build an effective intervention and prevention program. Critical to the effectiveness of any intervention program is staffing. Teachers and counselors must be trained and available to help special education students when they begin to display inappropriate behavior. In every instance special education students should remain in school. Time out of school causes regression making it even more diff~cult for students to achieve their goals.

Recommendations:

1. The Department of Education develop and implement an intervention and prevention program with effective behavioral supports serving as the foundation for building an effective program to reduce the number of disciplinary actions.

2. The Department of Education fund counselor positions to counsel and work with students with disciplinary referrals. Providing intervention at the initial signs of negative behavior.

3. The Department of Education fund positions for "suspension teachers" assigned to work with students who face suspension from the regular school program. Keeping children with special needs in school should be the norm.

Training Committee Report

Chairperson - Carla Chang

The Training committee focused their efforts on two main areas:

1. The mentoring and empowerment of teachers, and

2. Compensation and incentives for mentors and teachers.

Recommendation:

• Tapping into retired teachers to have them help in the classroom and as substitute teachers;
• Having a "teacher of the month" program to recognize best practice and boost teacher morale;
• Provide opportunities for teachers to meet district wide and network;
• Continue to provide scholarships for tuition and fees at the B.A. and Masters level for "shortage" personnel.
• Expanded opportunities from post-baccalaureate M.A. Dual Certification
• Outreach Programs (neighbor islands) need supervising Teachers

Additional Recommendations:

The following recommendations are made based on general discussions by the full Council and the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997.

1. It is important to develop a common vision among all stakeholders. Therefore cross training of all stakeholders is essential. Training curricula will need to include perspectives from the parent view as well as include parents as co-trainers and participants in trainings. (34CFR 300.382, 300.3820), 300.370(8)(2))

2. Confidentiality of identifiable information is a priority especially for students receiving mental health care. As the Department of Education and other participating agencies move towards electronic record keeping and communication, it is imperative that procedural safeguards of confidentiality are applicable to computer technology. The Department of Education along with the Department of Health and their private providers need to provide training to all personnel including contracted providers on the confidentiality rights of parents and students under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 and the Family Educational Rights to Privacy Act. It is also recommended that all personnel including contracted providers be required to sign a confidentiality pledge that the individual will uphold the confidential rights of the parent and child. (34 CFR 300.572, 300.575)

3. Educators need to look at what can be done to prevent negative behavior and be trained in how to work with students using positive behavior interventions, strategies and supports. (34 CFR 300.346 (2)(i))

4. Information on training activities need to be provided to the Hawaii Center for the Deaf and the Blind well in advance to secure interpreters. A method of assuring the dissemination of information in a timely manner is required since HCDB is not affiliated with a district.

5. In order for the Special Education Advisory Council to perform its function in compliance with 34 CFR 300.652 the State Department of Education must provide information relating to the areas identified in 34 CFR 300.652 to the council in a timely manner prior to deadlines for decision making.

Respectfully Submitted,

Special Education Advisory Council Jasmine Williams, Chair

July 1, 2000