IEP Goals in Hawaii: What Parents Need to Know
What makes an IEP goal measurable in Hawaii?
Hawaii IEP goals must be measurable annual goals designed to meet the child's disability-related needs and enable involvement and progress in the general curriculum, implemented through HAR § 8-56-28(b)(2). Hawaii follows the federal IDEA standard requiring benchmarks or short-term objectives only for students who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards; other students must have measurable annual goals with a description of how progress will be measured. Goals must be aligned to general education standards to the maximum extent appropriate. The IEP team in Hawaii considers the student's strengths, parental concerns, recent evaluation results, and the student's academic, developmental, and functional needs. The HIDOE Special Education Section provides guidance on goal writing through its statewide technical assistance, and because all schools statewide follow the same HIDOE guidelines, goal-writing practices are more uniform across Hawaii than in states with multiple LEAs.
What Hawaii Requires
Annual goals must be measurable and address the disability-related needs that affect the student's involvement and progress in the general curriculum (HAR § 8-56-28(b)(2); 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2)(i)).
For students who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards, the IEP must include benchmarks or short-term objectives (HAR § 8-56-28(b)(2); 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2)(ii)).
The IEP must include a description of how progress toward annual goals will be measured (HAR § 8-56-28(b)(3)(i); 34 CFR 300.320(a)(3)(i)).
Parents must be informed of the extent to which the child is making progress toward annual goals at least as frequently as nondisabled students' parents receive progress reports (HAR § 8-56-28(b)(3)(ii); 34 CFR 300.320(a)(3)(ii)).
Goals must be reviewed and revised when the student is not making expected progress, when evaluation results indicate new needs, or when the parent or teacher requests revision (HAR § 8-56-32; 34 CFR 300.324(b)(1)).
Key Timelines
Annual goals cover a one-year period and are reviewed at the annual IEP meeting (HAR § 8-56-32).
Progress toward goals must be reported to parents at least as frequently as nondisabled students receive progress reports (HAR § 8-56-28(b)(3)(ii); 34 CFR 300.320(a)(3)(ii)).
Goals must be revised when a student is not making expected progress, which may require an IEP meeting before the annual review (HAR § 8-56-32; 34 CFR 300.324(b)(1)(i)).