STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1650

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.C.R. No. 138

       H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 138, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO EXAMINE ALL POSSIBILITIES TO ENABLE STUDENT ATHLETIC TEAMS TO RUN AND TRAIN OFF CAMPUS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge the Department of Education to examine all possibilities to enable student athletic teams to run and train off campus.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from three individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Education, Maui High School, and one individual.

 

     Your Committee finds that athletic endeavors offer a valuable complement to a student's academic pursuits and often motivate student success on and off the field.  Some sports require participants to engage in endurance training that requires long distance running which cannot be reasonably accomplished within the confines of a school campus.  Concerns regarding student safety and school liability have driven Department of Education policies that prevent teams from training on public sidewalks or roadways.  Such policies put public school teams at a competitive disadvantage to independent schools that are not subject to similar restrictions, and may discourage students from participating.  The Department of Education should more closely examine the issue to determine whether a finer balance may be struck between safety concerns and the need for athletes to access adequate routes for training purposes.

 

     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.C.R. No. 138, H.D. 1, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

 

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

 

 

 

________________________________

MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair