HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

187

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

  
   

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 

requesting the Auditor to evaluate the operational efficiency and programmatic effectiveness of the State's integrated special education database system.

 

 

WHEREAS, the integrated special education database (ISPED) is the Department of Education's vehicle for accessing and completing all special education and Section 504 actions from the request for evaluation through service delivery; and

WHEREAS, ISPED is an interactive, process-driven database that gives teachers and service providers access to pertinent information, and is intended to reduce and simplify the paperwork used in planning and determining appropriate services; and

WHEREAS, the Joint Senate-House Investigative Committee (Investigative Committee) which has been investigating the State's compliance with the Felix Consent Decree, recommended that the Legislature examine why ISPED is so far behind schedule, why it has cost more than planned, whether the system truly will work for its users, and whether the system will enable the Legislature and anyone else to obtain the necessary reports that managers need; and

WHEREAS, given the decision to convert from clinic-based mental health services to school-based behavioral health services, the Investigative Committee wanted the Legislature to ensure that the benefits that the Department of Education (DOE) had gained from the Department of Health (DOH) computer system would not be lost as DOE took jurisdiction over most of the students formerly served and tracked by DOH; and

WHEREAS, anecdotal evidence suggests that DOE's handling of ISPED-–largely due to the large amount of data that must be back-inputted to make the database whole--is inefficient, costly, duplicative, and time-consuming; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, the Senate concurring, that the Auditor is requested to evaluate the operational efficiency and programmatic effectiveness of the State's ISPED system; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is specifically requested to:

(1) Evaluate the time and method of submitting information as required by ISPED, including an analysis of time spent by teachers and counselors inputting data;

(2) Evaluate individualized education program and Section 504 modification plan requirements, and processes and procedures;

(3) Assess operational issues related to the storage of documents in electronic form, and confidentiality issues related to the storage of documents under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and other applicable laws;

(4) Assess issues related to the analysis, evaluation, and confidentiality of data and whether appropriate benchmarks are in place to monitor student progress, and determine whether the University of Hawaii Center on the Family would be appropriate for such a task; and

(5) Address the efforts by DOH and DOE to recover federal reimbursements, or apply for and receive federal and private funds to enhance or supplant general funded programs and services;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to report any findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2003; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chairperson of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Education, Director of Health, and Attorney General.

Report Title:

Integrated Special Education Database System; ISPED