Special education is specially designed instruction, related services, and other supplementary aids to meet your child’s unique needs—at no cost to you. The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) provides services to children ages 3 through 21, residing in Hawaiʻi, who are eligible for special education and related services.

overview

Special education refers to a range of services provided your child with disabilities to improve their educational outcomes. It is specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of your child with disabilities. Special education may include, but is not limited to, academic services, speech-language services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, counseling services, and parent education. In addition, special education services are provided at no cost to you. Find out if Special Education Is For Your Child (PDF).

Special education services are made available to any student—ages 3 through 21—who demonstrates a need for specially designed instruction after an eligibility determination. An evaluation will determine the nature and extent of the student’s needs. Evaluations are separate assessments that may include: academic performance, communication skills, general intelligence, health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status, and motor abilities. If your child is eligible for special education, services are provided through an Individualized Education Program (IEP).

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) and state regulations require the HIDOE to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE), which includes a continuum of services for your child who is eligible for special education and related services.

Evaluation and Eligibility

Special education is intended for students who have disabilities that cause difficulty in learning and need specialized instruction.

Evaluation is defined as the procedures used to determine if your child has a disability and the nature and extent of the need for special education and related services. This process helps identify learners who are eligible for special education and related services by determining the presence of a disability and the need for special education services. There are specific timelines that teams must follow for the evaluation process.

Appropriate referrals for special education begins after supportive instructional practices have occurred and the student needs far more than the classroom teacher can provide through general education support. For example, a student who has significant academic and/or behavioral challenges and continues to display a lack of progress despite increasing levels of intervention.

Determination of Disability for Special Education

Teams must:

• Conduct an evaluation
• Complete the three-prong test
• Consider your child’s educational progress and the interaction between the disability
• Determine the educational impact of that disability
• Decide the need for special education

This important distinction highlights that the disability label alone does not prompt a determination of eligibility for special education. In the context of special education eligibility, the disability label has no standing without reference to impaired educational progress as a result of the disability.

Three-Prong Test 

Each prong must be met before the team can determine that if your child is eligible for special education.

• Prong 1: Disability – Does your child have a disability?
• Prong 2: Adverse effect – Is the disability adversely affecting your child’s involvement and progress in general education?
• Prong 3: Need – Does your child need special education and related services due to their disability?

Individualized Education Program

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a written statement about the educational program for your child with a disability. It serves as a management tool to ensure that your child receives the needed special education and related services. It can also serve as an evaluation tool when used to determine the extent of their progress toward accomplishing projected goals.

Each IEP includes:

• A statement of your child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance
• A statement of annual goals, including short-term instructional objectives
• A statement of the specific special education and related services to be provided
• The extent that your child will be able to participate in regular educational programs
• The projected dates for initiation of services and the anticipated duration of the services
• Appropriate objective criteria and evaluation procedures and schedules for determining, on at least an annual basis, whether the objectives are being achieved

Beginning at age 14 (or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP team), the IEP shall include a statement of the transition service needs of your child—under the applicable components of the their IEP—that focuses on their courses of study (such as participation in a vocational educational program).

Beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when your child turns 16 (or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP team), the IEP must include:

• Appropriate measurable post-secondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessment
• The transition services (including courses of study) needed to assist the student in reaching those goals
• Age-appropriate transition assessments based on the individual needs of your child that are to be used to determine appropriate measurable post-secondary goals
• Beginning no later than one year before your child reaches the age of majority under state law, (18 years of age in Hawaiʻi), their IEP must include a statement that the student has been informed of his/her rights under Part B of IDEA, if any, that will transfer to your child on reaching the age of majority

The following participants need to be present at an IEP meeting (PDF):

• A representative of the public agency, other than your child’s teacher, who is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, special education
• The child’s teacher
• One or both of the parents/legal guardians
• Your child, if appropriate
• Other individuals at the discretion of the parent or agency

IEP Meetings

IEP meetings need to be held at least annually. Depending on the needs and progress of your child, meetings to review and revise may be held more frequently.

While IEP meetings are usually initiated and conducted by the school, it is appropriate for parents to request an IEP meeting when you believe your child is not progressing satisfactorily or you feel there is a problem with the current IEP.

State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) requires each state to develop a State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) that evaluates the state’s efforts to implement the requirements and purposes of the IDEA and describes how the state will improve its implementation.