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A judge has ruled that the state Department of Education did not violate the state Constitution by not making a Hawaiian language immersion program available for students on Lanai, according to a news release. According to the state attorney general’s office, Circuit Judge Virginia L. Crandall ruled in favor of the state Wednesday.
A Lanai mother sued the state in 2014 over a lack of Hawaiian immersion education for her daughters.
Department spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz says it’s a challenge to find qualified teachers for Hawaiian immersion. She says the department has been exploring options to provide Hawaiian immersion on Lanai and is working on finding a solution.
Attorneys from the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., which filed the lawsuit, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.