Homeless Children Denied Equal Access to Education - Civil Rights Groups Charge State With Failure in Federal Class Action Lawsuit
October 02, 2007
Honolulu: Calling the State of Hawaii's treatment of homeless children
a travesty, civil rights groups and attorneys filed a class action
lawsuit today challenging the State's failure to provide homeless
children with equal access to public education. The lawsuit which
names three homeless parents and their children charges State
officials ("State") with ignoring their legal obligations to provide
homeless children with equal access to a free and appropriate public
education in violation of the McKinney-Vento Act ("Act"). The lawsuit
also charges State officials with violating constitutional requirements
to provide equal access to public education without regard to the
status of homelessness.
The lawsuit was filed in federal district court by the American Civil
Liberties Union of Hawaii Foundation ("ACLU of Hawaii"), Lawyers for
Equal Justice ("LEJ") and the law firm Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing
and
seeks a court order requiring the State to fulfill its legal
obligations and protect the educational rights of homeless students and
their parents. The three homeless parents and their children seek to
represent all homeless students and their parents in Hawaii.
Homeless
parents and children face innumerable barriers when they try to access
education in the Hawaii public school system. Plaintiff Alice
Greenwood, a homeless parent with physical disabilities whose child,
age 6, missed thirty-three days of school last year because State
officials failed to provide transportation, said, "Every child deserves
an education. He shouldn't be punished just because he's homeless. It's
not his fault."
Plaintiffs Olive Kaleuati and Venise Lewis
reported similar problems. School officials refused to allow Kaleuati's
children to enroll because they were unable to provide a permanent
address or moved out of the school area. As a result, the children were
forced to stay home or change schools. Lewis reported numerous
incidences where her children had to stay home from school because she
had no money to pay for bus fare. Plaintiffs repeatedly pled with
school officials for help, only to be threatened or ignored.
Tragically, these examples are typical of the problems reported by
homeless parents and children throughout the State.
The
McKinney-Vento Act was enacted in 1987 to break down these barriers and
ensure that children in homeless situations can enroll in, attend and
succeed in school and preschool programs. Although the State receives
hundreds of thousands of dollars every year in federal grant money
specifically earmarked to implement the Act and assist homeless
families, the lawsuit charges that the State has failed completely to
uphold its duties under the Act and to provide homeless children with
equal access to a free and appropriate public education.
"The
State's complete disregard of its duty to assist this extremely
vulnerable population is indefensible," stated Lois Perrin, ACLU of
Hawaii Legal Director. "It is absolutely shocking that the State has
failed to assist these children despite having been on formal notice of
its noncompliance since 2006."
William Durham, LEJ attorney,
stated further, "For homeless children and their parents, education is
the way out of a deplorable situation, yet the State has erected
barriers for them at every turn in violation of federal law and the
Constitution. By bringing this lawsuit, we are fighting for homeless
children to get the education they need and deserve."
The
lawsuit names as defendants Judy Tonda, Department of Education ("DOE")
Homeless Coordinator; Patricia Hamamoto, DOE Superintendent; Robert
McClelland, DOE Systems Accountability Office Director; Board of
Education members Karen Knudsen, John Penebacker, Herbert Watanabe,
Breene Harimoto, Dr. Eileen Clarke, Dr. Lei Ahu Isa, Kim Coco Iwamoto,
Mary Cochran, Maggie Cox, Cec Heftel, Denise Matsumoto, Donna Ikeda,
and Garrett Toguchi; and Chiyome Fukino, Department of Health Director.
The
mission of the ACLU of Hawaii is to protect the fundamental freedoms
enshrined in the U.S. and State Constitutions. The ACLU of Hawaii
fulfills this through legislative, litigation, and public education
programs statewide. The ACLU of Hawaii is a non-partisan and private
nonprofit organization that provides its services at no cost to the
public and does not accept government funds. The ACLU of Hawaii has
been serving Hawaii for over 40 years.
Lawyers
for Equal Justice ("LEJ") is a legal aid organization that was created
in 2001 to complement existing legal service providers that assist
financially disadvantaged people. LEJ engages in legal advocacy,
including the bringing of class actions, to assist low income
individuals and communities in the enforcement of their rights and the
obtaining of benefits under the law or governmental policies and
regulations. LEJ also engages in advocacy before local, state and
federal agencies in rule or law making proceedings which will affect
low income people and focuses on legal education activities to inform
low income individuals and groups of their rights.