Hawaii: Superintendent questioned about punishing special needs kids

Sept 20, 2017, West Hawaii Today: Special education services eyed for improvement http://westhawaiitoday.com/news/local-news/special-education-services-eyed-improvement The Hawaii Department of Education’s new superintendent on Monday said delivery of special education services is among the areas eyed for improvement this year.... Superintendent Christina Kishimoto, who took the reins in August, spoke about her plans for those programs and others to parents and faculty at Kealakehe High School….

One specific outstanding question, she added, was how schools are going to address the behavioral needs of special needs students, saying punishing students for behaviors that manifest themselves as a result of a disability isn’t the answer. She said when staff punish behavior instead of consider what the behavior is expressing, it just makes everything worse. …