The Hawaiʻi State Department of Hoʻonaʻauao (HIDOE) provides services to children ages 3 through 21, residing in Hawaiʻi, who are eligible for hoʻonaʻauao kūikawā a me nā lawelawe pili. Special education is specially designed instruction, related services, and other supplementary aids to meet your child’s unique needs—at no cost to parent(s).

ʻike nui

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, hoʻonaʻauao kūikawā services are provided at no cost to parent(s). Find out if Hoʻonaʻauao Kūikawā 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 hoʻonaʻauao kūikawā, services are provided through an Individualized Hoʻonaʻauao Program (IEP).

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Hoʻonaʻauao 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 hoʻonaʻauao kūikawā a me nā lawelawe pili.

Ka Loiloi a me ka Pono

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 hoʻonaʻauao kūikawā and related services. This process helps identify learners who are eligible for hoʻonaʻauao kūikawā and related services by determining the presence of a disability and the need for hoʻonaʻauao kūikawā services. There are specific timelines that teams must follow for the evaluation process.

Appropriate referrals for hoʻonaʻauao kūikawā 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 Hoʻonaʻauao Kūikawā

Pono nā hui:

• Hana i ka loiloi
• E hoʻopau i ka hoʻāʻo ʻekolu
• Consider your child’s educational progress and the interaction between the disability
• Determine the educational impact of that disability
• Decide the need for hoʻonaʻauao kūikawā

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

Ho'āʻo ʻEkolu 

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

• Manaʻo 1: Kino kīnā – He kino kīnā ko kāu keiki?
• Māhele 2: Ka hopena ʻino – Is the disability adversely affecting your child’s involvement and progress in general education?
• Māhele 3: Pono – Does your child need hoʻonaʻauao kūikawā and related services due to their disability?

Individualized Hoʻonaʻauao Program

An Individualized Hoʻonaʻauao 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 hoʻonaʻauao kūikawā and related services. It can also serve as an evaluation tool when used to determine the extent of their progress toward accomplishing projected goals.

Aia i kēlā me kēia IEP:

• A statement of your child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance
• He ʻōlelo o nā pahuhopu makahiki, me nā pahuhopu aʻo wā pōkole
• A statement of the specific hoʻonaʻauao kūikawā and related services to be provided
• The extent that your child will be able to participate in regular educational programs
• ʻO nā lā i manaʻo ʻia no ka hoʻomaka ʻana o nā lawelawe a me ka lōʻihi i manaʻo ʻia o nā lawelawe
• Nā pae hoʻohālikelike kūpono a me nā kaʻina loiloi a me nā papa manawa no ka hoʻoholo ʻana, ma ka liʻiliʻi o ka makahiki, inā e hoʻokō ʻia nā pahuhopu.

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).

E hoʻomaka ana ma mua o ka IEP mua e paʻa i ka piha ʻana o kāu keiki i 16 (a ʻoi aku paha inā i hoʻoholo ʻia e ka hui IEP he kūpono), pono e komo i ka IEP:

• ʻO nā pahu hopu ma hope o ke kula kiʻekiʻe e pili ana i ka loiloi hoʻololi kūpono i ka makahiki
• Pono nā lawelawe hoʻololi (me nā papa haʻawina) e kōkua i ka haumāna e hoʻokō i kēlā mau pahuhopu
• Nā loiloi hoʻololi i kūpono i ka makahiki ma muli o nā pono pākahi o kāu keiki e hoʻohana ʻia no ka hoʻoholo ʻana i nā pahuhopu kūpono ma hope o ke kula lua.
• E hoʻomaka ana ma mua o hoʻokahi makahiki ma mua o ka hiki ʻana o kāu keiki i ka makahiki nui ma lalo o ke kānāwai mokuʻāina, (18 makahiki ma Hawaiʻi), pono i kā lākou IEP e komo i kahi ʻōlelo i hōʻike ʻia i ka haumāna i kāna mau kuleana ma lalo o ka Māhele B o IDEA, inā he, e hoʻoili ʻia i kāu keiki ke hiki i ka makahiki o ka hapa nui.

ʻO kēia mau mea Pono nā mea komo i kahi hālāwai IEP (PDF):

• A representative of the public agency, other than your child’s teacher, who is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, hoʻonaʻauao kūikawā
• The child’s teacher
• Hoʻokahi a ʻelua paha o nā mākua/kiai kānāwai
• ʻO kāu keiki, inā pono
• ʻO nā kānaka ʻē aʻe ma ka manaʻo o ka makua a i ʻole ka hui

Halawai IEP

Pono e mālama ʻia nā hālāwai IEP i kēlā me kēia makahiki. Ma muli o ka pono a me ka holomua o kāu keiki, hiki ke mālama pinepine ʻia nā hālāwai e nānā a hoʻoponopono.

ʻOiai e hoʻomaka a alakaʻi ʻia nā hālāwai IEP e ke kula, pono i nā mākua ke noi i kahi hālāwai IEP inā manaʻo ʻoe ʻaʻole holomua kāu keiki a manaʻo paha ʻoe he pilikia me ka IEP o kēia manawa.