Access for disabled is needed to follow law

In order to make the Hawai`i public school system comply with federal regulations on accessibility to disabled members of the public, $29.3 million must be spent, according to the Department of Education.

This should be a number one priority for the state, since every passing day brings an increased risk of federal lawsuit to our school system. As many as 98 cafeterias and 106 administration buildings are without proper accommodations.

Nine year-old Mark Gross must crawl up a flight of stairs to use his school's computer facility, Keolu Elementary has no lift or elevator, and he is the only disabled student.

Although $59 million was spent for 49 schools to comply, 22 schools remain without proper accommodations. Only $9 million is earmarked for further modifications over the next two years. At this rate, we'll finish in about the year 2003.

Since the director of the Department of Education's civil right compliance office doesn't have an estimate on how much the cost of renovations actually is, there's not even a way to be sure of this.