STAND. COM. REP. NO.561

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 339

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 339 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a Council on Educational Data and Accountability Indicators (Council) to be administratively attached to the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii.

The Department of Education submitted testimony in opposition to this measure. The University of Hawaii submitted testimony expressing concerns about this measure. The Office of the Auditor and the Office of Information Practices submitted comments on this measure.

Your Committee finds that there are myriad sources of information and data that report on our public education system, but it is not presented in a manner that is very useful to state policy-makers. Your Committee further finds that it is important for education information to be analyzed and reported on a statewide basis to support the P-20 initiative that seeks to align and integrate elementary and secondary education programs with higher education.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Creating the Council as a temporary entity rather than creating it in Chapter 307, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(2) Requesting the Council to compile a database of longitudinal data;

(3) Deleting the Auditor from the Council and recomposing the Council to comprise eleven members;

(4) Providing for the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to appoint two members each to the Council;

(5) Repealing the Council on June 30, 2005; and

(6) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for the 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. 339, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 339, 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