Report Title:

URGING THE HAWAII CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO REQUEST MORE FEDERAL ASSISTANCE IN COMPLYING WITH FELIX CONSENT DECREE AND IDEA.

WHEREAS, the Felix Consent Decree and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) set in motion reasonable standards of providing services to students with physical and mental disabilities; and

WHEREAS, the Felix Consent Decree, as originally ordered in October, 1994 and extended in August, 2000, was well-intended, but was also overly broad in scope; and

WHEREAS, the Felix Consent Decree and the IDEA did not adequately define what was meant by a "free and appropriate" education; and

WHEREAS, over 700 million dollars, more than a quarter of the current education biennium budget, is needed for compliance with the Felix Consent Decree; and

WHEREAS, no fiscal limits or restraints are considered in providing services for Felix identified children, thus giving each student or family a virtual blank check for services requested; and

WHEREAS, while the State recognizes the strong educational needs for the over 11,000 Felix-identified students with mental and physical health concerns, the current compliance system forces the public school system to spend a disproportionate amount of time and resources away from regular-needs students; and

WHEREAS, when IDEA initially went into effect, the federal government indicated that it would provide up to forty percent of the necessary annual funding, yet currently, federal subsidies provide less than ten percent of the cost mandated by the Felix Consent Decree and IDEA; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-First Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, that the Hawaii delegation of the United States Congress, is respectfully urged to aggressively seek and obtain additional federal subsidies in complying with the Felix Consent Decree and the IDEA; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii congressional delegation is respectfully requested to ask for forty percent of federal assistance previously promised by the federal government; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Hawaii's congressional delegation.