As a State Educational Agency (SEA), the HIDOE is responsible under federal law for ensuring equitable services for private school children, teachers and other educational personnel.
Since the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) was reauthorized as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, private school students and teachers have been eligible to participate in certain federal education programs (ESEA Sections 1117 and 8501). Educational services and other benefits provided for private school students, teachers and other educational personnel shall be equitable in comparison to services and other benefits for public school students, teachers and other educational personnel participating in the programs under ESEA.
ESEA Requirement
According to ESEA sections 1117 and 8501, equitable services applies to the following programs:
Title I, Part A
Designed to provide all children a significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps.
Title I, Part C
Support high quality education programs for migratory children and help ensure that migratory children who move among the states are not penalized in any manner by disparities among states in curriculum, graduation requirements, or state academic content and student academic achievement standards.
Title II, Part A
Provide private school teachers and school leaders with professional development opportunities to support effective instruction.
Title III, Part A
Services to benefit English Learners (ELs) children and Immigrant Children and Youth (ICY).
Title IV, Part A
Improve students’ academic achievement by increasing the capacity of HIDOE, schools, and local communities to: 1) provide all students with access to a well rounded education, 2) improve school conditions for student learning, and 3) improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students.
Title IV, Part B
Create community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities for children, particularly students who attend high poverty and low-performing schools.
Title IV, Part F
Project School Emergency Response to Violence program (Project SERV) funds provide short-term, immediate assistance to help in the recovery of the learning environment after disruption due to a violent or traumatic crisis.
Equitable Services Informational Session Recordings
- May 14, 2024 2024-2025 Equitable Services Informational Session Recording, password: Tibk7piW | 2024-2025 Equitable Services Informational Session Slides (PDF)
- April 5, 2024 Project SERV Equitable Services Recording, password: XsPapH4R
Ombudsman
To help ensure equitable services and other benefits under the ESEA are provided to eligible private school students, teachers, and other educational personnel, HIDOE has designated an ombudsman to monitor and enforce the requirements. (ESEA Sections 1117(a)(3)(B) and 8501(a)(3)(B)).
Contact Information
Jacy Yamamoto
Ph: 808-307-3600
Email
Mailing Address:
ESEA Ombudsman
Monitoring and Compliance Branch
P.O. Box 2360
Honolulu, HI 96804
Equitable Services Complaint Process and Form
A private school official has the right to file a complaint with the SEA when the official deems that the Local Educational Agency has not engaged in consultation that was meaningful and timely, has not given due consideration to the views of the private school official, or has not made a decision that treats the private school students equitably (ESEA Sections 1117(b)(6)(A) and 8501(c)(6)(A)). Private schools wishing to know more about the process and how to file a written complaint can refer to the documents below.
- ESEA and CARES Equitable Services Complaint Process (PDF)
- ESEA and CARES Equitable Services Complaint Form (PDF)