“Laura Brown Image”

The days of rulers rapped across students’ knuckles to enforce discipline in schools are gone.

Now, according to federal and state officials, children have gone hog wild and are using tobacco, alcohol and drugs. Hawaii has a plan to bring them under control: Drug test every one of them.

This is the proposal of Hawaii Senate President Robert Bunda, referred to by Gov. Linda Lingle in her Jan. 21, 2003, State of the State address as an idea that has merit. For those in the audience who thought the idea came out of left field, they need only follow the money that precedes the idea, back to the hand that feeds our state — the federal government.

The U.S. Departments of Education, Justice and Health and Human Services recently announced more than $80 million in grants to 46 communities to prevent aggressive and violent behavior and drug and alcohol use among the nation’s youth through the Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SSHS) Program.

This collaboration among the three federal agencies heaps education, mental health, social service, law enforcement and juvenile justice all onto the plate of local public schools.

“We know from our work with the U.S. Secret Service and from other research that the best way to deal with youth who are troubled is through the development of a comprehensive strategy that involves schools, mental health providers and law enforcement,” U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige said. “It is absolutely critical to bring mental health professionals, school officials and law enforcement to the table to address the issue of safe schools. The SSHS grants do just that.”

It is more likely that at the most these programs merely expand the profits of drug testing and research companies while violating students’ right to privacy, and stretching school and taxpayer resources to the breaking point.

As Hawaii faces budget cuts and deficits, why spend scarce resources on drug testing?

Hawaii is still reeling from the Felix Consent Decree spurred by federal research on methods to reduce the costs of mental health care nationally.

In 1993, the Children’s Mental Health Services (CMHS) arm of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) division under the federal Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) embarked on the Children and Their Families research project in 22 states, including Hawaii.

Unsuccessful attempts by local agencies and principal investigators to replace qualified mental health care with bogus “fix the family” treatments resulted in the federal court’s intervention to force Hawaii to shift the responsibility for child mental health services to public schools.

The Legislature had no choice but to comply. Hawaii Session Laws, Act 91 (1999) required the Departments of Education and Health to do just that. This move resulted in the state agencies’ inability to collect Medicaid payments under the School Based Behavioral Health model, the exodus of qualified mental health personnel to other states, teacher and administrator burnout, exploding education budgets and, most frightening of all, damaged children and families.

”Lesson Goes Unlearned by Local Legislators”

The promise by Lingle that drug testing would be “voluntary” and “preventative” not “punitive” is not reflected in bills making drug testing mandatory for enrollment in public school.

HB1297 would require the identification of drug users, followed by counseling and treatment. This would miraculously improve student academic performance by reducing retention, suspension and expulsion rates, while deterring high school students from a life of crime.

More importantly though, in conformance to requirements of the federal grant, Hawaii’s schools must perform a needs assessment and create an integrated database of information on the prevalence of drug use and the level of need for services.

Twenty-five percent of all students would be tested. In other words, schools would perform a research marketing survey for predatory mainland consultants to come sell their services to solve Hawaii’s youth drug “crisis.” Would a consent decree — a la Felix — follow?

Another bill to watch is SB1471, requiring the testing of all public school children using urinalysis. (This is in a public school system that is known for its lack of toilet paper.) Educators and staff would be “trained” on how to spot users of illicit drugs. (Putting that training in “best practices” for reading on hold.)

SB 716 allows for the expulsion of children selling or using “intoxicating” liquor or drugs and allows for random drug testing of all public school children. A student may be tested even if he “reasonably appears” to have used illicit substances. If a student tests positive, the principal may refer the student to a treatment program, bypassing parental consent.

SB 1471 prefers the hair testing method to be done on all students within the first 20 school days of each school year. Students who test positive will have another drug test 90 days later. The Department of Health will be in charge of student and family drug surveys. Students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch will get a discount on their drug testing.

”’Next Rotten Apple: Hawaii’s Education Beat will explore the costs of drug testing.”’

”’Laura Brown is the education reporter for HawaiiReporter.com and can be reached via email at”’ mailto:LauraBrown@hawaii.rr.com

The Superintendent’s Annual Report on School Performance and Improvement in Hawaii is one of two reports in the state’s system of school accountability. This report contains collective data on our schools for school year 2000-01, showing trends over time and, where appropriate, comparisons with data from other states.

The other report, the School Status and Improvement Report, is prepared annually for each school. These reports contain school data and summaries of the schools’ standards implementation plans and improvement activities. They are available at public libraries and online at https://arch.k12.hi.us on the World Wide Web.

These reports are the most visible parts of the Department of Education’s assessment and accountability system, the purpose of which is to hold everyone in the department, including me, responsible for student learning. These reports grew out of the department’s initiative, begun over 10 years ago, to develop a comprehensive accountability system for the public schools of Hawaii. The department’s efforts have laid a sound foundation for the system, but the system is very much a “work in progress.”

We have in place a strategic plan for standards-based reform, at the core of which is the implementation of a truly statewide assessment and accountability system. Recently, we have undertaken major revisions of our plan to conform our efforts to the requirements of the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001” (Public Law 107-110), which
was signed into law on Jan. 8, 2002.

These new requirements are substantial and will necessitate considerable effort and investment on our part. Future editions of both this Superintendent’s Report on School Performance
and Improvement and the School Status and Improvement Reports will include our progress toward the federal goal of having all children meet high standards of educational achievement.

”Highlights of the Report”

*SCOPE. The report for school year 2000-01 covers public education in kindergarten through 12th grade, including data from 254 regular public schools and 6 public charter schools in the seven administrative districts in Hawaii.

*ENROLLMENT. Overall enrollment growth, which had exceeded 1.5 percent for the five years from 1991-92 through 1995-96, has ended for now. After peaking in 1995-96, overall enrollment has declined in the last two years. However, schools are still experiencing the effects of population shifts, especially the westward movement of population on Oahu.

*SPECIAL NEEDS. The numbers of students in need of special services are increasing much more rapidly than the population of students at large. These students are those from poor economic circumstances, those with limited English proficiency, and those who need special education services. Students with these special needs have increased in numbers by 40 to 100 percent in the last decade. This means that the task facing public schools is steadily becoming more difficult and more costly.

*STAFFING. Hawaii has a relatively high pupil-to-teacher ratio, which has remained stable since 1992-93 while the ratios of other states have declined. Hawaii has fewer of its professional staff performing administrative functions than comparison states. Shortages of both teachers and administrators are looming, as many certificated personnel will become eligible for retirement within a few years.

*FINANCE. The state’s commitment to public education has persistently lagged behind that of other states. Hawaii is among the top ten states in combined state and local expenditures per capita, but it ranks last in the percentage of state and local expenditures allocated to public schools. Hawaii is the only state that funds its public schools from state revenues without using local government funds.

*FACILITIES. Hawaii has made great progress in easing classroom shortages in the last six years; only Leeward and Maui Districts still have net shortages of classrooms. However, schools’ library facilities are chronically underdeveloped; almost half of our schools have inadequate library space. The state’s schools remain among the largest in the nation.

*National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Hawaii’s 4th and 8th grade students performed about the same on the 2000 NAEP mathematics assessment as they did in 1996. Their performance on the 2000 NAEP science assessment was at or near the bottom of the states participating. (Pages 27-30)

*DROPOUTS AND SCHOOL COMPLETION. Dropout rates for students in grades 9-12 average about 5.1 percent per year. The estimated cumulative dropout rate is just under 20 percent, nearly twice the Hawaii and national goal of 10 percent or less

Laura Brown Image The days of rulers rapped across students’ knuckles to enforce discipline in schools are gone. Now, according to federal and state officials, children have gone hog wild and are using tobacco, alcohol and drugs. Hawaii has a plan to bring them under control: Drug test every one of them. This is the proposal of Hawaii Senate President Robert Bunda, referred to by Gov. Linda Lingle in her Jan. 21, 2003, State of the State address as an idea that has merit. For those in the audience who thought the idea came out of left field, they need only follow the money that precedes the idea, back to the hand that feeds our state — the federal government. The U.S. Departments of Education, Justice and Health and Human Services recently announced more than $80 million in grants to 46 communities to prevent aggressive and violent behavior and drug and alcohol use among the nation’s youth through the Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SSHS) Program. This collaboration among the three federal agencies heaps education, mental health, social service, law enforcement and juvenile justice all onto the plate of local public schools. “We know from our work with the U.S. Secret Service and from other research that the best way to deal with youth who are troubled is through the development of a comprehensive strategy that involves schools, mental health providers and law enforcement,” U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige said. “It is absolutely critical to bring mental health professionals, school officials and law enforcement to the table to address the issue of safe schools. The SSHS grants do just that.” It is more likely that at the most these programs merely expand the profits of drug testing and research companies while violating students’ right to privacy, and stretching school and taxpayer resources to the breaking point. As Hawaii faces budget cuts and deficits, why spend scarce resources on drug testing? Hawaii is still reeling from the Felix Consent Decree spurred by federal research on methods to reduce the costs of mental health care nationally. In 1993, the Children’s Mental Health Services (CMHS) arm of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) division under the federal Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) embarked on the Children and Their Families research project in 22 states, including Hawaii. Unsuccessful attempts by local agencies and principal investigators to replace qualified mental health care with bogus “fix the family” treatments resulted in the federal court’s intervention to force Hawaii to shift the responsibility for child mental health services to public schools. The Legislature had no choice but to comply. Hawaii Session Laws, Act 91 (1999) required the Departments of Education and Health to do just that. This move resulted in the state agencies’ inability to collect Medicaid payments under the School Based Behavioral Health model, the exodus of qualified mental health personnel to other states, teacher and administrator burnout, exploding education budgets and, most frightening of all, damaged children and families. ‘Lesson Goes Unlearned by Local Legislators’ The promise by Lingle that drug testing would be “voluntary” and “preventative” not “punitive” is not reflected in bills making drug testing mandatory for enrollment in public school. HB1297 would require the identification of drug users, followed by counseling and treatment. This would miraculously improve student academic performance by reducing retention, suspension and expulsion rates, while deterring high school students from a life of crime. More importantly though, in conformance to requirements of the federal grant, Hawaii’s schools must perform a needs assessment and create an integrated database of information on the prevalence of drug use and the level of need for services. Twenty-five percent of all students would be tested. In other words, schools would perform a research marketing survey for predatory mainland consultants to come sell their services to solve Hawaii’s youth drug “crisis.” Would a consent decree — a la Felix — follow? Another bill to watch is SB1471, requiring the testing of all public school children using urinalysis. (This is in a public school system that is known for its lack of toilet paper.) Educators and staff would be “trained” on how to spot users of illicit drugs. (Putting that training in “best practices” for reading on hold.) SB 716 allows for the expulsion of children selling or using “intoxicating” liquor or drugs and allows for random drug testing of all public school children. A student may be tested even if he “reasonably appears” to have used illicit substances. If a student tests positive, the principal may refer the student to a treatment program, bypassing parental consent. SB 1471 prefers the hair testing method to be done on all students within the first 20 school days of each school year. Students who test positive will have another drug test 90 days later. The Department of Health will be in charge of student and family drug surveys. Students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch will get a discount on their drug testing. ”Next Rotten Apple: Hawaii’s Education Beat will explore the costs of drug testing.” ”Laura Brown is the education reporter for HawaiiReporter.com and can be reached via email at” mailto:LauraBrown@hawaii.rr.com

The Superintendent’s Annual Report on School Performance and Improvement in Hawaii is one of two reports in the state’s system of school accountability. This report contains collective data on our schools for school year 2000-01, showing trends over time and, where appropriate, comparisons with data from other states. The other report, the School Status and Improvement Report, is prepared annually for each school. These reports contain school data and summaries of the schools’ standards implementation plans and improvement activities. They are available at public libraries and online at https://arch.k12.hi.us on the World Wide Web. These reports are the most visible parts of the Department of Education’s assessment and accountability system, the purpose of which is to hold everyone in the department, including me, responsible for student learning. These reports grew out of the department’s initiative, begun over 10 years ago, to develop a comprehensive accountability system for the public schools of Hawaii. The department’s efforts have laid a sound foundation for the system, but the system is very much a “work in progress.” We have in place a strategic plan for standards-based reform, at the core of which is the implementation of a truly statewide assessment and accountability system. Recently, we have undertaken major revisions of our plan to conform our efforts to the requirements of the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001” (Public Law 107-110), which was signed into law on Jan. 8, 2002. These new requirements are substantial and will necessitate considerable effort and investment on our part. Future editions of both this Superintendent’s Report on School Performance and Improvement and the School Status and Improvement Reports will include our progress toward the federal goal of having all children meet high standards of educational achievement. ‘Highlights of the Report’ *SCOPE. The report for school year 2000-01 covers public education in kindergarten through 12th grade, including data from 254 regular public schools and 6 public charter schools in the seven administrative districts in Hawaii. *ENROLLMENT. Overall enrollment growth, which had exceeded 1.5 percent for the five years from 1991-92 through 1995-96, has ended for now. After peaking in 1995-96, overall enrollment has declined in the last two years. However, schools are still experiencing the effects of population shifts, especially the westward movement of population on Oahu. *SPECIAL NEEDS. The numbers of students in need of special services are increasing much more rapidly than the population of students at large. These students are those from poor economic circumstances, those with limited English proficiency, and those who need special education services. Students with these special needs have increased in numbers by 40 to 100 percent in the last decade. This means that the task facing public schools is steadily becoming more difficult and more costly. *STAFFING. Hawaii has a relatively high pupil-to-teacher ratio, which has remained stable since 1992-93 while the ratios of other states have declined. Hawaii has fewer of its professional staff performing administrative functions than comparison states. Shortages of both teachers and administrators are looming, as many certificated personnel will become eligible for retirement within a few years. *FINANCE. The state’s commitment to public education has persistently lagged behind that of other states. Hawaii is among the top ten states in combined state and local expenditures per capita, but it ranks last in the percentage of state and local expenditures allocated to public schools. Hawaii is the only state that funds its public schools from state revenues without using local government funds. *FACILITIES. Hawaii has made great progress in easing classroom shortages in the last six years; only Leeward and Maui Districts still have net shortages of classrooms. However, schools’ library facilities are chronically underdeveloped; almost half of our schools have inadequate library space. The state’s schools remain among the largest in the nation. *National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Hawaii’s 4th and 8th grade students performed about the same on the 2000 NAEP mathematics assessment as they did in 1996. Their performance on the 2000 NAEP science assessment was at or near the bottom of the states participating. (Pages 27-30) *DROPOUTS AND SCHOOL COMPLETION. Dropout rates for students in grades 9-12 average about 5.1 percent per year. The estimated cumulative dropout rate is just under 20 percent, nearly twice the Hawaii and national goal of 10 percent or less?and increasing. School completion rates for seniors have improved over the last decade. Almost 80 percent of public school seniors plan to continue their education. *STUDENT DISCIPLINE. The incidence rates of disciplinary suspension have decreased since 1995-96, both overall and in each category of threat to safety. Suspensions for the most serious (Type A) offenses declined modestly while suspensions for Type C offenses (violations of department rules) decreased markedly. See the Adobe Acrobat pdf version of the full report of School Performance and Improvement in Hawaii 2001 here: “Superintendent Report 2001 file”