HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

145

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

urging the DEPARTMENT of education to CHANGE THE TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS FOR individuals WITH POSTGRADUATE DEGREES IN FIELDS OTHER THAN EDUCATION TO ALLOW THEM TO TEACH ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES IN MATH, SCIENCE, AND ENGLISH.

 

 

WHEREAS, the House of Representatives finds that there is a shortage of teachers in Hawaii, and a critical need for quality teachers in public schools; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's public school students have consistently performed at low levels on standardized tests in math, science, and English; and

WHEREAS, based on the "Quality Counts," Education Week 2004 teacher review, Hawaii received a D+ grade for its efforts to improve teacher quality; and

WHEREAS, conventional teacher recruitment methods have not been successful enough to relieve the teacher shortage by attracting a sufficient number of qualified teachers; and

WHEREAS, secondary school teachers in the Department of Education are required to have taken 33 credit hours in the University of Hawaii College of Education, and elementary school teachers are required to have a second bachelor's degree; and

WHEREAS, Punahou School and Iolani School, two of the largest private schools in the state, hire individuals with postgraduate degrees in fields other than education to teach courses in math, science, and English; and

WHEREAS, many individuals with postgraduate degrees in fields other than education are experts in their academic discipline; and

WHEREAS, many of these individuals are interested in becoming public school teachers, and can help relieve the shortage of teachers for classes in the higher levels of math, science, and English in the public school system, but are turned down because they lack a teaching certificate or formal education training; and

WHEREAS, these individuals, who have already spent a considerable amount of time and money on their postgraduate degrees, are discouraged from becoming teachers under the current requirements due to the additional time and money involved; and

WHEREAS, these individuals often have teaching experience and their teaching skills can be measured and judged by fellow teachers who can observe their performance in public school classrooms; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that the Department of Education is strongly urged to change the teacher qualifications for individuals with postgraduate degrees in fields other than education to allow them to teach advanced placement courses in math, science, and English; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Education.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

AP Courses; Teachers With Non-Education Postgraduate Degrees