You are searching for the best special education attorney in Hawaii. We understand why. Your child’s education is at stake, and you want someone who knows what they are doing. We would like to share what 27 years of doing this work has taught us — and let you decide if we are the right fit.
Why Special Education Law Is Its Own World
IDEA is not like other areas of law. A brilliant trial attorney who has never handled a special education case will be at a disadvantage against a DOE attorney who handles these cases every week. Special education law requires understanding:
- The IDEA statute and its regulations
- How IEPs are developed, implemented, and enforced
- What constitutes a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
- The procedural safeguards that protect parents’ rights
- How Hawaii’s administrative hearing process works
- The body of case law from Hawaii, the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court
- The educational and clinical language used in evaluations and IEPs
This is a field where experience is not just helpful — it is essential. The DOE’s attorneys handle these cases routinely. Your attorney should too.
What 27 Years Looks Like
Keith H.S. Peck has practiced special education law in Hawaii since 1999. In that time, he has handled more than 800 IDEA cases. He knows the hearing officers. He knows the DOE’s attorneys. He knows how the system works — and where it breaks down.
That depth of experience means we can often tell you in the first conversation whether your child’s situation has strong legal grounds. We do not take cases we do not believe in, and we do not give families false hope. Honesty is the foundation of everything we do.
What Families Have Experienced
Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes. But here is what our work has produced over 27 years:
- Services restored after the DOE reduced or eliminated them
- Private school placements secured when public school programs failed
- Compensatory education awarded for years of denied services
- Independent evaluations obtained at public expense
- IEPs rewritten to include appropriate goals, services, and accommodations
- Tuition reimbursement for families who placed their child privately
Individual results vary. These examples reflect outcomes across hundreds of cases and are not a guarantee of any particular result.
What Hawaii Families Have Said
“Keith was incredibly knowledgeable and genuinely cared about my child’s well-being. He fought for services that the DOE had denied for years. I cannot recommend him highly enough.”
“After years of frustration with the DOE, Keith got results in months. He understood the law, he understood my child, and he understood how to make the system work for us.”
“We were told our son didn’t qualify for services. Keith filed for due process and proved otherwise. Our son is now in a program that is actually helping him learn.”
“Keith Peck is the real deal. He took our case when no one else would and secured everything our daughter needed. We are forever grateful.”
How We Get Paid — And Why It Matters
Under IDEA’s fee-shifting provision, when parents prevail in a due process case, the school district pays the parents’ attorney fees. 20 U.S.C. Section 1415(i)(3)(B). That means:
- No retainer
- No hourly bills
- If we prevail, the Hawaii DOE pays our fees
- If the case does not produce a favorable outcome, you owe nothing for attorney fees
We have built our practice on this model for 27 years. It aligns our interests with yours: we succeed when your child succeeds.
