“As the State Director for Special Education here in the territory, I don’t believe that a decentralization of standardized, routine, network based services and its personnel will be beneficial for students with disabilities, says Special Education Assistant Director, Jeanette Vasai Tilo. The SPED director has declined the offer by the Director of Department of Education regarding her new assignment to be “working aside from or along side Special Education”.

In the meantime, many parents of local SPED students say change is needed, as no help has been forthcoming for their children who need the help. As one parent told Samoa News, “society needs our children to be functional, not dependent.”

The decentralization, however, has since been stopped as Samoa News understands that after the House Education Committee members visited the governor, a call was made from the governor’s office to DOE to stop the move to decentralize. (See story in Friday’s issue, Jan. 30, 2015.)

Last week, DOE Deputy Director Fa’aui Vaitaotolu had begun the move to decentralize SPED, following a review by five Special Education professionals from the Hawai’i Department of Education, which cited lack of accountability and major non compliance in the services provided for local SPED children. Vaitaotolu began reassigning SPED leadership to specific high school districts “to better serve” their students.

Lack of improvement in SPED services, despite efforts by ASDOE for SPED to correct major issues, was cited by Vaitaotolu as the reason for the changes.

In response to DOE’s move, Tilo wrote to the DOE Director, Vaitinasa Salu Hunkin Finau, where Tilo said during a meeting she attended with other SPED officials and DOE officials there were discussions about her reassignment, and that she would be working aside from or alongside SPED. But Tilo says, she “was told that there exist no documents as we are just now discussing the proposed reassignments…” and noted, “I had also requested time to consider the reassignment, as I would need to discuss the proposal with my family.”

Tilo told the DOE director that she has concerns with the proposal as she believes there is some discrepancy regarding her position and title along with the duties and responsibilities that come with it.

She also says the changes the DOE director is implementing are based on the DOE’s organizational chart that has yet to be approved by Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga, and until the chart has been approved, only then can change of assignments, or implementation of revisions be made.

Tilo does not agree with the decentralization of SPED, saying it is the center of the proposed changes in the org chart, and points out that it “may not always be efficient, especially for standardized, routine and network based services.” She said the function of the division is to provide support services to students eligible under the mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004.

She noted that “we do not admit that the system is perfect, like other states and territories, but the assistance from our grantor, which includes financial and technical support from the USDOE consistently monitors and communicates what the territory needs to do is to stay in compliance with the mandates of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.”

Tilo concluded that her 303 reflects that she’s the Assistant Director for SPED and the duties and responsibilities that come with that position and title are those assigned to her. “As this title and position are career service, other options to consider, should I decline the reassignment, were not discussed. I have sought the counsel of an attorney should I need one,” she said.

 It’s unclear how long the governor will hold off on the decentralization, and questions sent to governor’s Executive Assistant Iulogologo Pereira were not answered as of press time.

SPED PARENTS' COMPLAINTS

DOE officials say that Special Education’s long term problems have led to parents filing complaints with the Office of Civil Rights with the United States Department of Education.

One of the most outspoken SPED parents is Sandra Scanlan, who in an email to Samoa News indicated that she fully supports the move by DOE for change.

Last year Scanlan filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights where she explained that her eight-year-old daughter has been part of the special education system for four years and  has not yet been provided with speech and language therapy by a professional licensed Speech Language Pathology. “My daughter has many disabilities but her primary disability is speech delay,” she said in her complaint.

Lack of qualified SPED personnel, materials and funding was also cited.

Samoa News should point out it has also received complaints from parents of SPED students with the same issues. According to the parents, the Special Ed teachers and principals have also lodged complaints about not getting proper materials and supplies to help them do their work for children with special needs.

According to Scanlan SPED teachers have not been supported in their effort to gain training in working with the special needs of their students.

Scanlan further stated that last year DOE cancelled summer school due to funding and SPED  was included — until several parents complained. “I was the only  parent that actually filed a complaint, and so mine was the only child offered an extended school year (which only consisted of 3 hours a week).

“This is a pattern with our SPED. Only those who complain get the service if they yell loud enough, and when a case is settled, no one else benefits,” she pointed out.

“I do not cry this year when I drop her off, but I do know that she will never reach the potential she could have, because intervention was not appropriate or timely when she was younger (she has been in SPED 6 years).

“Early intervention is key in successfully educating our special needs children, and these precious years have been lost for my child. She will never reach even semi-independence, and communication will forever be a frustration where it may have at least been functional with proper intervention,” Scanlan said, adding that the children are worth more than this, and society needs our children to be functional, not dependent.

One man told Samoa News in an email that his son was among the children who attended SPED, however he had since moved off island seeking better services for his son, and change is necessary with SPED.

“They have pushed and shoveled all their dirty politics through their Fono family connections to get the Governor involved in what is best for their personal gain and not for our children.” This parent also took issue with the lawmakers who went to the Governor to stop the move to decentralize SPED.

He said that there is a need for change as these are the same problems that occurred many years ago and the former administration did not fix the problem, but instead, just ignored it.

A woman told Samoa News that aside from not getting the proper help and support for these children as required by law, some parents have taken the next step by filing their complaints directly with the US Department of Education because they are unable to get any help or satisfactory results from the local responsible agencies. 

She said that if these complaints filed with the federal government are validated and the local SPED is found not in compliance with the Development Disability Act of 2000, they will most certainly lose their grant funding.