A state Board of Education committee is calling for more discussion and a wider range of community input as the Department of Education develops new guidelines and time frames for evaluating schoolchildren with special needs.

Hawai'i Schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto will oversee a series of work groups throughout the state to develop the new guidelines that could be in place for the 2007-08 school year.

Various groups had expressed concerns that the public and families of children with special needs had not been given enough time to offer thoughts and concerns during a two-week public comment period in February.

At a board committee meeting this week, Hamamoto said, "It's clear there needs to be more dialogue and discussion."

The department intends to lengthen the time allotted to evaluate a child with special needs, aligning changes with guidelines from 2004 amendments to the national Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.

Hawai'i law mandates that schools begin providing services within 60 days from the time a parent has signed consent. Some educators — and IDEA requirements — have indicated that the time frame is too tight, creating hardships for teachers and the schools, said Debra Farmer, educational specialist in the DOE Special Education Section.

But some parents are concerned that extending the evaluation time period could mean services would be delayed for their children.

"There are other glitches," parent Linda Elento told the committee. "The Individual Education Plan for my child is still pending. ... They went from the end of August to October before I was even given the paper to sign my consent. And it's not just me."

Ivalee Sinclair, chairwoman of the Special Education Advisory Council, told the committee this week there had been a general "failure" by the DOE to elicit adequate comment from the public, especially advocates for children with disabilities and families of special-needs children.

Sinclair said the superintendent's plan to hold work group meetings in coming months could result in a broader airing of the issues and lead to an equitable agreement.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com.