Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Thursday, August 14, 2014
Pono Choices May Violate State, Federal Laws
By Rep Bob McDermott @ 3:57 AM :: 6142 Views :: Education K-12, Family

Several aspects of the D.O.E.'s handling of 'Pono Choices' violate state and federal laws.

News Release from Office of Rep Bob McDermott August 13, 2014

Few, if any, parents were told that the discredited Pono Choices program was a research project. Parents simply were not informed that their kids were being used as human Guinea Pigs for research! This is a monumental breach of trust between the DOE and the owners of the system, the parents.

Families were told that Pono Choices was a “new curriculum” being tested or a “pilot project” but were never told that there students were participating in a research project. Research projects necessarily require informed consent when human subjects are involved. Meaningful, informed, affirmative consent is the cornerstone of human subject protections; this did not happen. Further, because the DOE's implementation of Pono Choices violated several safeguards contained in the Federal Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). This is illegal, sloppy and incompetent.

Additionally, the students, the teachers, and community liaisons were given gift cards in violation of Hawaii State law. This unlawful activity is bad enough, but it then also renders all the data collected in the research project known as Pono Choices as meaningless due to an inherit input bias as a result of a financial inducement. I asked the DOE what the amount of the Gift Cards was and they have refused to answer me; consequently, I filed another ethics complaint against them in July for continuing to violate the law. This practice violates all ethical guidelines in standard research.

Despite what they say publically, the DOE’s definition of “age appropriateness” used in evaluating Pono Choices is shockingly absurd: Can the child understand and comprehend the verbiage, grammar and words taught? Nothing related to sensitive and complex emotional, cognitive, and psychological and behavior issues were ever evaluated.

Just grammar! This is unbelievable. I am certain that the first time many of these children have ever been exposed to the concept of anal sex was in Pono Choices, so how could it possibly be age appropriate?

Pono Choices was NEVER certified as medically accurate and is still not today! The program was submitted to the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH), which then subcontracts a medical review via Paltech. These results are then sent to the University of Hawaii. No one ever verifies if the changes are made. Then the OAH “approves for use” , but specifically does not approve for medical accuracy, as they have a policy that forbids them from doing so. This is how we ended up with the ludicrous definition of the anus as a genital and the practical equalization of anal and vaginal sex; with no government entity willing to take responsibility for it.

The attached McDermott Report- II, documents the above findings and much more.

PDF: THE MCDERMOTT REPORT II

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT