The State of Hawaii serves children with special learning
conditions or special needs in the public school system. Among these
conditions are:
Mild, Moderate, Severe, and Profound Mental Retardation
Specific Learning Disabilities Blindness or Partial Sight Deafness or Hearing
Impairments Other Health Impairments, including Autism Speech
Impairments
SPECIAL SERVICES: We are obligated to provide
students a free and appropriate education. Multi-disciplinary child
study teams conduct comprehensive diagnostic services to determine eligibility
for special education services. Eligibility from the previous school
district will be honored until an evaluation can be completed.
A
student's special education documents should be presented when registering at
the local school. For efficient registration and placement, complete
records are required. Documents which families are requested to
provide include:
1. The Individual Educational
Plan (IEP)
2. Intelligence test
scores/profiles
3. Academic/Achievement test
scores/profiles
4. Speech/Language
evaluations
5. Physical/Occupation Therapy
reports
6. Medical/Development
data
7. Psychiatric/Psychological
reports
Central District works closely with the Department of Health as
well as with military installations: Hickam, Pearl Harbor, Schofield
and Wheeler clinics, Tripler Army Medical Center and Family Services
Centers. When necessary, diagnosis team members meet with clinic
personnel and other medical agencies to review the needs of medically involved
students (i.e., pan-hypopituitarism, tracheostomies, cerebral palsy, epilepsy,
colostomies, head or spinal cord injury, etc.)
For more information, call
Special Services at (808) 622-6432.
SPECIAL EDUCATION: Special
education students and those who have other special needs will be warmly
received in our schools. Free appropriate public education will be
offered to all eligible students. Every reasonable measure will be
taken to expedite a student's appropriate special education class
placement. To do this, it will be critical that all proper documents
from the student's previous school or clinic be available for the school staff
to review. This includes the current Individual Educational Plan
(IEP).
The school/district will honor special education certification of
students granted by their former school district on an interim
basis. Current records will be reviewed and further evaluation may be
conducted and applied to Hawaii's eligibility criteria.
Students are
required to attend classes in their school attendance area unless special needs
dictate other services/and or placement.
Transportation will be available
for all special education students who are district placed in schools other than
in their regular attendance area. Request for transportation may be
for those who are not special education certified, but who require assistance
due to their special needs.
Parents are advised to contact their child's
school upon arrival to the District. For any inquiry on special
education, parents may also contact the CENTRAL OAHU SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICE,
Special Education Section at (808) 622-6425
Handicapped conditions
serviced by Central District Schools include:
Mentally Impaired
(Mild/Moderate/Severe)
Specific Learning Disability
Emotionally
Impaired
Visually Impaired
Hearing Impaired
Health
Impaired
Orthopedic Handicapped
Speech Impaired
Deaf-Blind
Multiple
Handicapped
Learning Impaired (3-5 year old)
Health Impaired Due to
Autism
Mainstreaming will be provided for those special students who are
able to function successfully in the school's regular education
program.
Graduation diplomas from Hawaii public schools are awarded to
high school students who earn 22 credits. Special education students will be
given this opportunity.
Special education students who elect not to
pursue the diploma route or who are not able to meet the minimum graduation
requirements will be able to participate in their school's graduation ceremony
but will be awarded a "Certificate of Completion" instead of a
diploma.
Special Education programs in Hawaii are in compliance with
Public Law 94-142. The Hawaii State Chapter 36 Guidance and
procedures further ensure due process rights of all special education students
and parents.
The Special Education Program is designed to provide an
educational program, which will enable the special needs student to achieve his
fullest potential. All students in the program must be certified by
the Special Services Section of Central Oahu District Superintendent's
office. An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is developed for
each student who enters the program. All rules and regulations
pertaining to Public Law 94-142 are adhered to.
Call your Army Community
Service Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) Coordinator, (808) 655-4227 for
information regarding the special needs of your family member. Hawaii is an
OCONUS location and ALL FAMILY MEMBERS MUST BE SCREENED BY AN ARMY EFMP
PHYSICIAN PRIOR TO RECEIVING FAMILY TRAVEL.