Aloha kākou, parents and families of remaining Hālau Lōkahi students:

As of Friday, February 6, 2015, the State’s official enrollment system still showed your student as not yet having transferred from Hālau Lōkahi Charter School to a new school. As of that day, Elizabeth Blake informed the Commission that 62 students still were reporting to Hālau Lōkahi.

As we explained, Hālau Lōkahi continues to exist as a legal entity for purposes of the revocation process, but this does not mean that in the meantime it is operating normally as a public school. As of this writing, the staff has been laid off and further state funds will not be released. Some teachers have departed, the professional qualifications and authority of the remaining volunteers to deliver courses are unknown, and the Commission has rejected the switch to reliance on online instruction. Under these circumstances, it is important for you to be aware that there is a serious possibility that students who remain at Hālau Lōkahi will not receive academic credit for this semester.

While some transfer opportunities that initially were available at other schools when we first contacted you have closed at this point, some options still are available. These options always include your student’s Department of Education (DOE) home school, and other DOE and charter schools have shown great aloha in welcoming new students.

Another option you may have at this point would be to register your student as a home-schooler, even for this one semester. Home-schooled students in grades one through eight generally can transfer back into public school at the grade assigned to their age, although an evaluation may be required to ensure the grade placement is appropriate. High school students can be home-schooled too, but it is very important to remember that home-schooled students do not earn credit toward a public high school diploma. To opt for home-schooling you must complete the OCISS Form 4140, Exceptions to Compulsory Attendance, and submit the form to the governing board of Hālau Lōkahi. Families of home-schooled students who wish to have their students participate in the Statewide Testing Program would need to contact their DOE home school.

We again encourage you to make use of the online information the Commission has made available to you about transfer options, which has been updated to include the information on home-schooling. As a reminder, go to www.chartercommission.hawaii.gov, click on “Information and Resources” and then on “Halau Lokahi.” And we again welcome you to contact the Commission office for assistance, at (808) 586-3775 or info@spcsc.hawaii.gov.