STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1533

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.R. No. 137
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.R. No.
137 entitled:

     "HOUSE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO
     PROVIDE GUIDANCE TO SCHOOLS IN RECOVERING FUNDS FOR LOST
     TEXTBOOKS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this resolution is to request the Board of
Education (BOE) to provide guidance to schools in recovering
funds for lost textbooks.

     The Department of Education (DOE) testified in support of
the intent of this resolution.

     Your Committee finds that DOE is losing about $500,000
annually because students do not reimburse the schools for
textbooks that they have not returned.  The kinds of consequences
that schools may give these students are limited because a school
may not impede a student's right to education.  Yet schools are
not totally powerless because they can take certain types of
actions.  Complex legal issues are involved here, and most
schools do not have the legal expertise to determine the options
that are available to them and those that are not.  As such, BOE
should provide leadership in this area and provide guidance to
individual schools.


 
 
 
 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1533
                                 Page 2

 
     Relatedly, students also incur other financial obligations
relating to school activities that are not part of core
educational functions.  Schools also need assistance in
determining what they can do to encourage students to fulfill
these financial obligations.

     Your Committee has amended the resolution by:

     (1)  Adding a statement that students incur financial
          obligations other than those for lost textbooks, and
          that many of these obligations have not been met;

     (2)  Adding that BOE report on providing guidance to schools
          in recovering funds for these other kinds of financial
          obligations;

     (3)  Revising the title to conform to revisions made in the
          body; and

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive revisions for style
          and clarity.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your
Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.R. No. 137, as
amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the
Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.R. No. 137,
H.D. 1.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Education,



                                   ______________________________
                                   KEN ITO, Chair