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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.H.D. 1      
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                     HOUSE CONCURRENT 
                        RESOLUTION

URGING THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION
   TO RESTRUCTURE THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO ENSURE
   ACCOUNTABILITY AT ALL LEVELS.



 1       WHEREAS, as the world accelerates towards one increasingly
 2   characterized by information and high technology, education of
 3   the highest quality is critical to individual and social well-
 4   being; and
 5   
 6       WHEREAS, by various standards, public education in Hawaii
 7   has been shown to be deficient, as Hawaii's public schools,
 8   when compared with the public schools of other states, have
 9   been consistently ranked low according to various indicators;
10   and
11   
12       WHEREAS, moreover, schools in the United States have been
13   ranked the lowest among those in all developed countries, and
14   lower than those in even some developing countries; and
15   
16       WHEREAS, the lack of confidence in public education is low,
17   as evidenced by a very high rate of enrollment in private
18   schools in the nation; and
19   
20       WHEREAS, many people influence the quality of education
21   provided by Hawaii's public schools, including the Governor,
22   the Legislature, the Board of Education, the Superintendent of
23   Education, staff in the central administrative offices and the
24   district administrative offices of the Department of Education,
25   school principals, teachers, parents and students; and
26   
27       WHEREAS, under the current organizational structure, it is
28   impossible to determine which units, groups, or individuals are
29   fulfilling their responsibilities and which are not; and
30   
31       WHEREAS, our highly centralized school system must be
32   further decentralized; and
33   
34       WHEREAS, capable, visionary, and motivated school-level
35   leadership is of critical importance to the success of each
36   school; and

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.H.D. 1      
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       WHEREAS, as a foundation for improving the quality of
 2   Hawaii's public schools, it is imperative that the Department
 3   of Education be restructured to build in accountability so that
 4   the role and responsibilities of each unit, group, and
 5   individual within the public school system are determined, and
 6   so that an evaluation system is developed to determine whether
 7   or not each is carrying out its responsibilities; and
 8   
 9       WHEREAS, in recent years, the subject of accountability has
10   received much attention in the field of education, and experts
11   agree that effective accountability:
12   
13       (1)  Links authority and adequate resources to
14            responsibility;
15   
16       (2)  Defines clear lines of responsibility and mutual
17            obligation;
18   
19       (3)  Involves fair and adequate assessment against agreed
20            upon goals;
21   
22       (4)  Invokes appropriate consequences in the form of
23            rewards and sanctions for observed performance; and
24   
25       (5)  Is supported by adequate resources and a supportive
26            legislative and policy agenda;
27   
28   and
29   
30       WHEREAS, a public school system with accountability built
31   into it will motivate and support the improved performance of
32   all parties; now, therefore,
33   
34       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
35   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
36   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that the Board of Education and
37   the Superintendent of Education are requested to restructure
38   the Department of Education to ensure accountability at all
39   levels and to allow for greater decision-making authority in
40   the individual schools; and
41   
42       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education and the
43   Superintendent of Education support school level administrators
44   by reviewing issues such as the adequacy of the present salary
45   structure, how to reward extraordinary effort, whether
46   educational officers should be decertified, and what kind of
47   training is needed for optimal performance; and
48   

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.H.D. 1      
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Superintendent of Education
 2   submit to the Legislature a report, including proposed
 3   legislation if needed, no later than twenty days before the
 4   convening of the Regular Session of 2000 on efforts to develop
 5   accountability within Hawaii's public school system and to
 6   allow individual schools greater decision-making authority; and
 7   
 8       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 9   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the
10   Board of Education, the Superintendent of Education, the
11   Executive Director of the Hawaii State Teachers Association,
12   the Executive Director of the Hawaii Government Employees
13   Association, and the President of the Hawaii State Parent
14   Teacher Student Association.
15   
16   
17   
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