SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COUNCIL

SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COUNCIL

Minutes - August 13, 2004

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

PRESENT: Aaron Arakaki (for Mike Tamanaha), Paul Ban, Pat Chu, Casey Fish, Ray Hart, Henry Hashimoto, Barbara Ioli, Suzanne Kashiwaeda, Steve Laracuente, Ray Makkonen, Rachel Matsunobu, Susan Rocco, Jill Shinno, Sissy Sosner, Norma Jean Stodden (for Jean Johnson), Jan Tateishi, Marge Wada (for Sue Brown), Jasmine Williams

EXCUSED: Dr. Alfred Arensdorf, Debra Farmer, Tami Ho, Alex Lewis, Dennis McDougall, Barbara Pretty, Ivalee Sinclair, August Suehiro

ABSENT: Debbie Cheeseman, Mary Ellis, Claire Nakamura

GUESTS & PARTNERS: Lorene Unten

TOPIC
DISCUSSION
ACTION

Call to Order Ray Hart called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. He was asked to fill in for Ivalee Sinclair and Tami Ho who were unable to attend.

Announcements
Ray Hart made the following announcements:

The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division has won a national award for excellence from the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry;
The Evidence Based Committee under CAMHD also won the Outstanding Team Award from the Department of Health;
Sydney Freitas of the Hawaii Center for the Deaf and the Blind has asked that we not eat or drink on the carpeted areas of the library;
Debbie Farmer has provided copies of the Executive Summary of the Annual Performance Report; and
Copies of the Annual Report and the latest Complaints Brochure are in members' file folders.

Jan Tateishi reminded members who were unable to attend our luncheon in June to take home a small appreciation gift.
Articles about the CAMHD and Evidence Based Committee awards and copies of the APR Executive Summary were circulated.

Introductions Ray introduced Marge Wada, representing the Early Intervention Branch for Sue Brown, Norma Jean Stodden representing the Center on Disability Studies for Jean Johnson, and Aaron Arakaki representing the Developmental Disabilities Division for Mike Tamanaha.

Approval of 7/09/04 Minutes Henry Hashimoto made a motion that the minutes be adopted without correction. Casey Fish seconded the motion. The minutes were approved as circulated.

Council Involvement in Performance Planning Paul Ban reported that the Western Regional Resource Center staff will be assisting the Special Education Section with the September 17th Annual Performance Planning meeting. The goal of the meeting is to take the report that was sent to OSEP in March and map out a longer range plan on how to use the reporting system as part of Hawaii's continuous monitoring process. After the September 17th meeting, focus groups will be formed around the five performance indicators identified by OSEP. Paul requested that SEAC send five members to the general planning meeting who are willing to address one of the focus areas in subsequent meetings. Five members volunteered to attend the September meeting: Casey Fish (early childhood transition), Barbara Ioli (secondary transition), Jasmine Williams (general supervision), Sissy Sosner (parent involvement) and Suzanne Kashiwaeda (FAPE).

Hawaii State Improvement Grant (SIG) Award Lorene Unten from the Special Education Section reported on Hawaii's success in securing a second State Improvement Grant of $750,000/year for the next 3 years. This grant will specifically target Waianae Complex to identify the root causes of poor student outcomes and address them through personnel development. In Year 2 & 3, promising practices developed at Waianae will be replicated in other school complexes. Paul Ban added that the grant design was a response to a request by Waianae principals to develop a mentoring and coaching model for all teachers. Members asked how parents will be involved in grant activities and identified some of the existing barriers in Waianae to home/school partnerships. Paul said the Learning Disabilities will be partners in the grant, and PCNCs will help facilitate opportunities for parents to receive information and training. Members encouraged the use of local parent leaders to participate in the planning as well as the implementation of grant activities. Lorene Unten distributed copies of the goals and objectives of Hawaii State Improvement Grant II. Lorene gave out copies of two Effective Practice Briefs--Successful Transitions and Family Involvement--that were funded through the first SIG Grant. She will supply SPIN with copies of other Briefs that may be of interest to members.

IDEA Partnership Grant Lorene also announced the award of a $10,000 grant from the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. The purpose of the grant is to bring together stakeholders in special education to talk about joint training. A teleconference next week will clarify what technical supports will be provided by NASDSE A summary of the Hawaii IDEA Partnership Grant was disseminated.

Update on Felix Compliance Paul Ban offered a brief update on Felix Compliance efforts. The Quarterly Performance Reports required by the Court are now posted on the DOE website (see Felix Reports). If DOE and DOH meet all their obligations, the State will be released from the Consent Decree on June 30, 2005. Enrollment this Fall has been higher than anticipated, and the Superintendent has given permission to hire extra positions. Columbus is still being used to provide highly qualified teachers when Personnel is unable to fill positions.

Update on Human Services Professional Series Susan Rocco reported that Dennis Kajikawa has volunteered to attend the September meeting to update members on the status of the conversion of social worker positions to human services professionals. Suzanne Kashiwaeda said that the Department has gone on record as not supporting a separate school social worker series. Their suggestion of social worker/human services professional is a compromise, but Suzanne is concerned that someone who is not a social worker can call themselves one.

Emerging Concerns
Jasmine Williams summarized five issues that have surfaced in her work at the Learning Disabilities Association of Hawaii:

Guardianship

Parents of students with significant disabilities are being required by some schools to obtain guardianship of their son/daughter at age 18 in order to continue their parental rights. IDEA allows for the option of awarding rights to the parents in cases where guardianship has not been established, when states have a mechanism to determine that a student is unable to make an informed choice. It is unclear if Hawaii has such a mechanism.

Power of Attorney

Students with learning disabilities who have reached the age of 18 and wish to have their parent(s) represent them in educational
Susan Rocco and Jasmine Williams will draft a letter to Mrs. Hamamoto asking for clarification on the first four issues. The draft will be e-mailed to members for further editing. Susan will also invite Pattie Nichols, State Reading Specialist, to brief members on reading initiatives at the September meeting.

decision-making through a Power of Attorney are being told that POAs are not allowable under IDEA.

Geographic Exceptions

Some students who are receiving special education services and whose family experiences a move to another school district during the school year are told that they cannot finish out the school year at their old school, even when maintaining the original placement is in the best interest of the student.

Timelines for Assessment Extensions

In several instances where a student's evaluation or re-evaluation has gone past the required timeline due to exceptional circumstances, parents are not given a revised timeline. Sometimes the delay can be substantial, thus holding up the adjustment of services and supports for the student.

Priority for Reading Instruction

For most of the families that Jasmine assists, poor reading skills are an issue. Students have negative educational outcomes as a result and behavioral problems often ensue if reading skills are not improved. While a lot of attention has been paid to developing interventions for students with autism, it is unclear what intitiatives are in place to improve reading skills of IDEA and 504 students.

After discussion of all the issues, members decided to seek further clarification from the Department through a letter to Mrs. Hamamoto on the issues of guardianship, Power of Attorney, assessment timelines, and geographic exceptions.

TOPIC	DISCUSSION	ACTION
Call to Order	Ray Hart called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. He was asked to fill in for Ivalee Sinclair and Tami Ho who were unable to attend.
Announcements	Ray Hart made the following announcements: The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division has won a national award for excellence from the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry; The Evidence Based Committee under CAMHD also won the Outstanding Team Award from the Department of Health; Sydney Freitas of the Hawaii Center for the Deaf and the Blind has asked that we not eat or drink on the carpeted areas of the library; Debbie Farmer has provided copies of the Executive Summary of the Annual Performance Report; and Copies of the Annual Report and the latest Complaints Brochure are in members' file folders. Jan Tateishi reminded members who were unable to attend our luncheon in June to take home a small appreciation gift.	Articles about the CAMHD and Evidence Based Committee awards and copies of the APR Executive Summary were circulated.
Introductions	Ray introduced Marge Wada, representing the Early Intervention Branch for Sue Brown, Norma Jean Stodden representing the Center on Disability Studies for Jean Johnson, and Aaron Arakaki representing the Developmental Disabilities Division for Mike Tamanaha.
Approval of 7/09/04 Minutes	Henry Hashimoto made a motion that the minutes be adopted without correction. Casey Fish seconded the motion.	The minutes were approved as circulated.
Council Involvement in Performance Planning	Paul Ban reported that the Western Regional Resource Center staff will be assisting the Special Education Section with the September 17th Annual Performance Planning meeting. The goal of the meeting is to take the report that was sent to OSEP in March and map out a longer range plan on how to use the reporting system as part of Hawaii's continuous monitoring process. After the September 17th meeting, focus groups will be formed around the five performance indicators identified by OSEP. Paul requested that SEAC send five members to the general planning meeting who are willing to address one of the focus areas in subsequent meetings.	Five members volunteered to attend the September meeting: Casey Fish (early childhood transition), Barbara Ioli (secondary transition), Jasmine Williams (general supervision), Sissy Sosner (parent involvement) and Suzanne Kashiwaeda (FAPE).
Hawaii State Improvement Grant (SIG) Award	Lorene Unten from the Special Education Section reported on Hawaii's success in securing a second State Improvement Grant of $750,000/year for the next 3 years. This grant will specifically target Waianae Complex to identify the root causes of poor student outcomes and address them through personnel development. In Year 2 & 3, promising practices developed at Waianae will be replicated in other school complexes. Paul Ban added that the grant design was a response to a request by Waianae principals to develop a mentoring and coaching model for all teachers. Members asked how parents will be involved in grant activities and identified some of the existing barriers in Waianae to home/school partnerships. Paul said the Learning Disabilities will be partners in the grant, and PCNCs will help facilitate opportunities for parents to receive information and training. Members encouraged the use of local parent leaders to participate in the planning as well as the implementation of grant activities.	Lorene Unten distributed copies of the goals and objectives of Hawaii State Improvement Grant II. Lorene gave out copies of two Effective Practice Briefs--Successful Transitions and Family Involvement--that were funded through the first SIG Grant. She will supply SPIN with copies of other Briefs that may be of interest to members.
IDEA Partnership Grant	Lorene also announced the award of a $10,000 grant from the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. The purpose of the grant is to bring together stakeholders in special education to talk about joint training. A teleconference next week will clarify what technical supports will be provided by NASDSE	A summary of the Hawaii IDEA Partnership Grant was disseminated.
Update on Felix Compliance	Paul Ban offered a brief update on Felix Compliance efforts. The Quarterly Performance Reports required by the Court are now posted on the DOE website (see Felix Reports). If DOE and DOH meet all their obligations, the State will be released from the Consent Decree on June 30, 2005. Enrollment this Fall has been higher than anticipated, and the Superintendent has given permission to hire extra positions. Columbus is still being used to provide highly qualified teachers when Personnel is unable to fill positions.
Update on Human Services Professional Series	Susan Rocco reported that Dennis Kajikawa has volunteered to attend the September meeting to update members on the status of the conversion of social worker positions to human services professionals. Suzanne Kashiwaeda said that the Department has gone on record as not supporting a separate school social worker series. Their suggestion of social worker/human services professional is a compromise, but Suzanne is concerned that someone who is not a social worker can call themselves one.
Emerging Concerns	Jasmine Williams summarized five issues that have surfaced in her work at the Learning Disabilities Association of Hawaii: Guardianship Parents of students with significant disabilities are being required by some schools to obtain guardianship of their son/daughter at age 18 in order to continue their parental rights. IDEA allows for the option of awarding rights to the parents in cases where guardianship has not been established, when states have a mechanism to determine that a student is unable to make an informed choice. It is unclear if Hawaii has such a mechanism. Power of Attorney Students with learning disabilities who have reached the age of 18 and wish to have their parent(s) represent them in educational	Susan Rocco and Jasmine Williams will draft a letter to Mrs. Hamamoto asking for clarification on the first four issues. The draft will be e-mailed to members for further editing. Susan will also invite Pattie Nichols, State Reading Specialist, to brief members on reading initiatives at the September meeting.
	decision-making through a Power of Attorney are being told that POAs are not allowable under IDEA. Geographic Exceptions Some students who are receiving special education services and whose family experiences a move to another school district during the school year are told that they cannot finish out the school year at their old school, even when maintaining the original placement is in the best interest of the student. Timelines for Assessment Extensions In several instances where a student's evaluation or re-evaluation has gone past the required timeline due to exceptional circumstances, parents are not given a revised timeline. Sometimes the delay can be substantial, thus holding up the adjustment of services and supports for the student. Priority for Reading Instruction For most of the families that Jasmine assists, poor reading skills are an issue. Students have negative educational outcomes as a result and behavioral problems often ensue if reading skills are not improved. While a lot of attention has been paid to developing interventions for students with autism, it is unclear what intitiatives are in place to improve reading skills of IDEA and 504 students. After discussion of all the issues, members decided to seek further clarification from the Department through a letter to Mrs. Hamamoto on the issues of guardianship, Power of Attorney, assessment timelines, and geographic exceptions.