Hawaiʻi violates equal-access law, ACLU says

The state violates a federal law that mandates equal access to education for homeless students by making them switch schools when they move and not letting them enroll in new schools without documentation, according to lawyers suing the school system.

Lawyers for Equal Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaiʻi yesterday went to court seeking an order that would immediately stop the state from enforcing laws and policies they claim make it hard for transient students to find stability in their schooling.

The move comes as part of a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of three homeless families who have to commute for hours or were denied geographic exceptions to keep their children in the same school each time they move.