Under both federal and Hawaii laws, all students with disabilities have the right to accommodations and support to allow them to access and benefit from their education. The extent of these rights depends on a student's age, grade level, and school, which determine which law applies.
The United States gives all students the right to a K-12 public education. The country also protects all individuals with disabilities from discrimination. While private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities all have an obligation to provide support and accommodations to students with disabilities, K-12 public schools have the most requirements for the services and support they must provide.
Whether a student is just beginning their educational career or embarking on post-graduate studies, the stakes are high. What a student gets out of their education and how they perform in school can make or break their career and future. Students with disabilities have the added burden of qualifying for needed services and support to access their education.
If and when schools fail in their legal obligations to students, families and students have options to address these issues. The Lento Law Firm assists families and students nationwide to find resolutions. We focus on collaborative solutions that keep the focus on a student's education. We encourage families and students to contact our Education Law Team by phone at 888-535-3686 or online to learn how we can help protect their education.
About the Urban Honolulu Region
With a population of 300,000, Honolulu is the largest city in Hawai'i. The region itself is home to over 1,000,000 people. O'ahu, although the third largest of the state's islands, is home to two-thirds of its residents.
As Honolulu hosts the world's largest naval fleet command and is one of the top ten most visited cities in the United States, visitors often focus on the island's world-famous beaches and lush greenery. They are the hundreds of thousands of people who call the island home. For Honolulu residents, daily life includes tourists but also the regular routine of work and school. Residents enjoy the longest average life expectancy in the United States but also one of the highest costs of living.
In 2013, the Office of Management and Budget redefined the Urban Honolulu area to encompass all of Honolulu County and O'ahu. Recognizing the state's large number of military families, in October 2022, Hawai'i received a $5 million grant from the Department of Defense Education Activity to assist military-dependent students who are enrolled in the Campbell, Kapolei, and Radford complexes.
K-12 Public Schools
Hawai'i is unique in that the entire state is a single school district. The state then divides the islands into districts and those districts into complex areas.
O'ahu hosts four districts and nine complex areas. Each complex area may have multiple complexes. Each complex area has its own superintendent.
A complex is generally one high school and the elementary and middle schools that feed into it. In other words, if a complex area has multiple high schools, each high school will likely be its own complex. Multiple elementary, middle, and junior high schools, however, may all be part of a single complex.
For example, the Kaimuki-McKinley-Roosevelt Complex Area is part of the Honolulu district. The complex area is comprised of three complexes: Kaimuki, McKinley, and Roosevelt.
The districts in the Honolulu area are:
- Central
- Honolulu
- Leeward
- Windward
Although these areas are referred to as districts, they are not school districts in the traditional sense. The state has a single school district with organizational divisions.
The complex areas in the Central School District are:
- Aiea-Moanalua-Radford
- Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua
The complex areas in the Honolulu School District are:
- Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani
- Kaimuki-McKinley-Roosevelt
The complex areas in the Leeward School District are:
- Campbell-Kapolei
- Pearl City-Waipahu
The complex areas in the Windward School District are:
- Castle-Kahuku
- Kailua-Kalaheo
- Nanakuli-Waianae
To help families locate their home school, the Hawai'i State Department of Education has a school locator map.
Colleges and Universities
The Honolulu area hosts a range of postsecondary programs. From community colleges to doctoral programs, students can complete their education and establish a career without having to leave the island.
The area's colleges and universities include:
- Chaminade University of Honolulu
- Hawaii Pacific University
- Honolulu Community College
- Kapiolani Community College
- University of Hawai'i
Federal Law
In the United States, disability is a protected class. This means the law protects those with a disability from discrimination on the basis of their disability.
Three major federal laws establish and protect disability rights in the United States. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) work together to prevent discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Each covers a different area and may use a different definition of disability.
Defining a Disability: ADA
Each law uses its own definition of disability to determine who the law covers. Someone may have a disability but not have any protection under a certain law.
The ADA defines someone who has a disability as someone who:
- “has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities,
- “has a history or record of such an impairment (such as cancer that is in remission) or
- “is perceived by others as having such an impairment (such as a person who has scars from a severe burn).”
The ADA has the broadest definition and reach. Any organization or business open to the public must comply with the ADA's requirements. This includes most private schools, whether they serve K-12 or college students.
Defining a Disability: Section 504
Section 504 uses the same definition of disability as the ADA. The law has a more limited reach than the ADA but, unlike IDEA, covers a wider range of schools. Any school that accepts federal funds, such as scholarships or loans, must comply with the law. This includes private schools, colleges, and universities.
Defining a Disability: IDEA
Of the three, IDEA has the narrowest reach and a more limited definition of what qualifies as a disability. IDEA applies only to K-12 public schools. The law covers children and students between 3 and 21. Once a student graduates from high school, IDEA no longer applies to them, even if they're under 21 years old.
IDEA sets the baseline for what qualifies as a disability, and states may add additional categories. With IDEA as the foundation, Hawai'i considers the following qualifying disabilities:
- Deaf or hard of hearing
- Intellectual disability
- Developmental delay
- Speech or language disability
- Visual disability, including blindness
- Emotional disability
- Orthopedic disability
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Traumatic brain injury
- Specific learning disability
- Deaf-blindness
- Multiple disabilities
- Any other health disability that establishes the need for special education and related services
That a student has one of these disabilities is not enough to qualify for support under IDEA. A student must have a disability, AND that disability must impact their education.
The Hawai'i Administrative Rules put this requirement in a different language: “If a student has one of the identified disabilities but only needs a related service and not special education, the student is not a student with a disability.”
Students must have a qualifying disability to gain protection under IDEA. A student who does not have a qualifying disability under IDEA may still qualify for protection under other state or federal laws, such as the ADA or Section 504.
FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects student education records. Before a student turns 18, parents or guardians have access to these records and often act on their child's behalf. Once a student turns 18 or graduates from high school, a parent or guardian's right under FERPA ends. The student then has the sole right to their educational records and who may access them.
For parents of students with disabilities, many of whom act as their child's guardian and representative for years, FERPA can be a challenge once parents' rights end. This is one reason why parents and guardians should, as much as possible, encourage students to learn about the process and become their own advocates. Especially once in college, parents will have a limited ability to help a student qualify for support and accommodations.
Hawai'i Law
Division 1, Title 18 of the Hawai'i Revised Statutes covers all public education within the state. Title 18 of the state's administrative rules governs education. In educational literature, Hawai'i sometimes refers to specific chapters. Chapter 60, for example, focuses on students with disabilities, while Chapter 19 lays out the requirements for student misconduct and discipline.
The Hawai'i State Board of Education has a page that covers the following rules and procedures:
- Statutes
- Administrative Rules
- Board Policies
- Joint Strategic Plan
- Board By-Laws
- Board Resolutions
- Reports
By including links to all of these sources in one place, parents and guardians can more easily navigate the various policies and regulations that govern education in Hawai'i. Hawai'i Revised Statute Chapter 302A governs K-12 education in the state.
Compared to other states, Hawai'i does make it easier for members of the public to access these laws and regulations. Ease of access, however, does not automatically make it easier to understand how these laws interact and work in practice. Experienced attorney advisors can help families translate all of this information into a workable solution.
Common Terms
As demonstrated by the three major federal laws, acronyms and unique terms are common in disability rights. This is especially true in education.
The Hawai'i State Department of Education includes a list of acronyms. These are not specific to disability rights or special education, but this guide can be useful for families who are navigating IEP meetings and resources on disability rights in education.
All children have the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the United States. For students with disabilities, FAPE includes the services and support they require and need to benefit from that education. FAPE applies to K-12 students.
The majority of students with disabilities spend all or most of their day in general education classrooms. Known as Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), this practice focuses on placing students with disabilities in general education classrooms and participating in the school community as much as possible. The key question with LRE is what is best for each student. Some students require more specialized placements.
Reasonable accommodations refer to the services and support a school must provide to be in compliance with the law. Accommodations do not have to be the most expensive, the newest, or the most effective to fulfill a school's responsibility. They merely have to be effective.
Schools may also deny an accommodation request if it would place an undue burden on the school or a member of the school community. Undue burdens can include the cost of accommodation or the additional time and effort an accommodation would require of a member of the school community.
Special Education in Hawai'i
With only a single K-12 school district in the state, the Department of Education's page on Special Education is the state's central resource for special education. The page includes links to resources such as:
- Hawai'i's Child Find program, which identifies pre-K children with potential disabilities and guides them to early intervention services
- Community Children's Councils, which bring together schools, families, and members of local communities to provide support for students and their families
Although special education services are more standardized, given how the state organizes K-12 public education, families and parents should still contact their local schools about specific support options. Schools may vary in what resources and programs they have for students.
For students at private schools, colleges, and universities and their families should ask about the school's program and special education support services before enrolling. These schools do still have a legal obligation to assist students with disabilities, even if that obligation is less than what is required of K-12 public schools.
Disability Protection Does Not End at the Schoolhouse Door
Federal and Hawai'i laws protect all students with disabilities. The level of protection and types of services a school offers may differ for a preschool student and a college student, but both have a right to an education free from discrimination.
If and when schools fail to provide legally mandated services and accommodations or if a school fails to recognize a student's disability and how that disability impacts that student's education, families and students have ways to address the problem. While IDEA establishes dispute resolution options for K-12 public students, all students have avenues to address discrimination in education.
The Lento Law Firm Education Law Team assists families and students nationwide. We help them understand their options and select the one that best addresses their circumstances. Just as each student is unique, we appreciate that each case is unique. Let us know more about your case by phone at 888-535-3686 or online to learn about how we can help you.
