STAND. COM. REP. NO. 447

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1265

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 1265 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to support the education and professional development of teachers in the public schools, through funding and improvements to programs under the Department of Education and the University of Hawaii.

 

     Specifically, this measure:

 

     (1)  Changes the Performance Standards Review Commission membership and reporting schedule;

 

     (2)  Clarifies the intended purpose of the Hawaii Educator Loan Program and amends the program's loan forgiveness incentive provisions; and

 

     (3)  Appropriates funds to the University of Hawaii for various programs and objectives, including the Office of School Redesign, teacher education and professional development, the Master of Education in Teaching degree program, additional staff for the Hawaii Educational Policy Center, and the Hawaii Educator Loan Program.

 

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Office of the Governor, the Department of Education, the University of Hawaii, the Office of School Redesign of the University of Hawaii, and the Hawaii Educational Policy Center.

 

     Your Committee finds that Hawaii is experiencing a critical teacher shortage that jeopardizes the education of the students in the public school system.  Recruitment and retention of qualified teachers also poses a real problem for the public schools.  The College of Education of the University of Hawaii plays a significant role in growing and developing a qualified teaching workforce through its education of future teachers, continued professional development of educators, and programs that lead to licensing, certificate programs, mentoring of teachings, educational research, and policy studies.

 

     In recent years, the need for a qualified workforce possessing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills has become a key issue for the public schools.  The development of skills and knowledge in the STEM disciplines has been lacking in the public schools, and the proper education and training of teachers is necessary to ensure that students are appropriately educated and ready to pursue post-secondary education or careers in those areas.  Increased initiatives and resources must be channeled to programs that will provide enhanced professional development in STEM subjects for educators in Hawaii.

 

     Your Committee believes that the appropriate funding and placement of professional development programs is important to developing a qualified teaching workforce to help prepare Hawaii's students for entry into college and the workforce.

 

     Additionally, your Committee determines that provisions of this measure regarding current statewide performance standards, the Performance Standards Review Commission, and reporting schedules have been addressed in another measure passed by this Committee.  Therefore, they should be deleted from this measure to further focus the attention on issues relating to the education and professional development of teachers.

 

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Deleting changes to the statewide Performance Standards Review Commission composition, the requirement for the development of assessments, and reporting requirements;

 

     (2)  Removing the appropriation for the Hawaii Educational Policy Center;

 

     (3)  Establishing the Research Experiences for Teachers program to support the development of middle school teacher STEM skills and knowledge and develop middle school curriculum for STEM subjects and providing funding therefor;

 

     (4)  Establishing a professional development program to provide practicing elementary, middle, and high school teachers of science and mathematics with opportunities to increase their knowledge and understanding in STEM subjects and providing funding therefore; and

 

     (5)  Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for purposes of clarity and style.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1265, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1265, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

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

 

 

 

____________________________

NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair