When a father of three school-age children attending Honolulu schools found out that one of his children was being harassed and beaten up at school because he was Caucasian, he moved all his children to what he considered “safer” schools in another district.

He didn’t know that the school his children left is failing under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Department of Education was required to offer transfer to a better performing school at the beginning of the school year.

He only knew that he was responsible for his children’s well-being and, without money for private school, his only choice was to obtain an address in a district that had better schools.

But he didn’t have the money to live in a better neighborhood. So he used a friend’s address -- he lied to save his child from further harm.

He also didn’t know that his 12-year-old, who was in 7th grade and still struggling to read, had the right to supplemental education services -- or tutoring -- under NCLB. Or that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) required the school district to test the child for disabilities and provide him with a Free Appropriate Public Education that would allow him meaningful benefit from his education or else pay for private school placement.

Despite these federal laws, the intermediate school principal found out about the family’s fake address and kicked the children out with only one month of school left in the school year. Now, 2 weeks later, the children still have no school to go to and have no way to finish their grade-level requirements.

The Superintendent has not been able to fix this family’s problem or the other 97 percent of all children in Hawaii who are eligible for school choice and/or free tutoring under NCLB, but who are not receiving help. Other states also are not providing choice according to the letter of the law.

Consequently, on May 15, 2006, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings sent a letter to all states requesting implementation of school choice and supplemental education services. The letter describes enforcement actions for states that choose not to comply.

Hawaii had already received a letter of warning last year that federal Title 1 funds may be at stake for its failure to provide choice options for public school students.

By law, the DOE must notify parents in schools that have failed for 3 consecutive years of their right to public school choice before the start of each school year.

The 2006-07 school year will begin on July 27th and the DOE is promising scores will be available by July 15th so that parents will have an opportunity to transfer to better performing schools.

Families Stuck without Choice

Hawaii does not have Department of Defense schools and therefore does not offer military families the quality DOD curriculum that students follow elsewhere in the U.S. and overseas. Nearly all of Hawaii’s schools with large military populations are currently failing under NCLB. Parents are told that they cannot obtain geographical exemptions to nearby schools that are meeting Adequate Yearly Progress under NCLB, because those schools are too overcrowded.

Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon has agreed to a community meeting at Sgt. Smith Theater, Schofield Barracks, on Tues. May 23, at 6 p.m. to discuss problems military parents are having in Hawaii schools. Superintendent Pat Hamamoto and her staff have been invited to present information at the meeting.

At a meeting of parents early this year to explore the formation of a charter school in central Oahu that would offer, at minimum, the DOD curriculum, parents told horror stories of violence, drugs, gangs and lack of instruction in local schools. Many had already given up on the system and had turned to private or home schooling.

The following statistics back-up parents seeking alternatives to public education:

• Hawaii currently ranks near the bottom in the nation on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment given to 4th and 8th graders in all states.
• Hawaii’s statewide assessment has been given an “F” by the Fordham Foundation, because standards are not measurable and there is no statewide curriculum, allowing each teacher to teach whatever they choose.
• Two-thirds of all Hawaii’s schools failed to meet AYP in 2005, leaving approximately 80,000 students eligible for school choice and/or supplemental education services.
• Graduation rates are not meaningful, because a Hawaii diploma means that a student took a specified number of years of science, English, math and social studies, but does not specify the rigor or level of instruction. No exit exam is required to demonstrate proficiency.
• DOE surveys are sent to only families of students in the public school system, not to those who have opted out.

Public School Choice Options

All parents of public school students must have access to the following school choice options:

• Charter Schools: Students in failing schools can request to attend one of our state’s existing Charter Schools and the state must provide transportation. Parents have not been told that charter schools are an option -- one that should be mentioned in the letters sent home when schools fail.
• Magnet Schools: The state could follow the lead of more than 700 schools districts throughout the that have some form of Magnet School. Magnet schools are public schools designed to attract students from diverse social, economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds. They focus on a specific subject, such as science or the arts; follow specific themes, such as business/technology or communications/humanities/law; or operate according to certain models, such as career academies or a school-within-a-school. Some magnet schools require students to take an exam or demonstrate knowledge or skill in the specialty to qualify to go to the school, while others are open to students who express an interest in that area. Forming magnet schools in facilities with declining enrollment could provide choice for parents and also relieve congestion in developing areas.
• Increased Supplemental Services: If the state cannot comply with a request for school choice, it must, by law, offer supplemental services to the children of that school. Thus far, the DOE has not gone out of its way to advertise the availability of such assistance.
• Conversion of Schools to Charters: Currently, Hawaii has no limit on the number of conversion charters in the state. Legislation, however, controls the conversion process by requiring the principal and 50 percent of teachers/staff to agree to a conversion. Even when a majority of parents at a school want to convert, as is the case right now with some military families wanting a military charter school, the principal and teachers control the process. Parents and communities should have the ability to “take over” failing schools and force the conversion.

The bottom line is that public school choice is a right for children in failing schools that receive federal funds. If a state cannot offer a position at a passing public school or offer supplemental services to help Hawaii’s children, then full school choice is the only way to ensure that No Child is Left Behind.

References:

Secretary Spelling’s letter: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/060515.html

School Choices for Parents: http://www.ed.gov/parents/schools/choice/definitions.html

Laura Brown is the education reporter and researcher for HawaiiReporter.com and the education policy analyst for the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. She can be reached via email at mailto:laurabrown@hawaii.rr.com