Report Title:

Department of Education; Exempt Hires

Description:

Allows the department of education to hire individuals with either professional or educational experience as exempt hires. Authorizes alternative routes to licensing based on professional or educational experience and allows for compensation commensurate with professional or educational experience.

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

1541

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO the department of education.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Section 302A-501, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

""Exempt hire" means an unlicensed employee of the department paid under a salary schedule negotiated with the department commensurate with the employee's educational or professional experience."

SECTION 2. Section 89-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (f) to read as follows:

"(f) The following individuals shall not be included in any appropriate bargaining unit or be entitled to coverage under this chapter:

(1) Elected or appointed official;

(2) Member of any board or commission;

(3) Top-level managerial and administrative personnel, including the department head, deputy or assistant to a department head, administrative officer, director, or chief of a state or county agency or major division, and legal counsel;

(4) Secretary to top-level managerial and administrative personnel under paragraph (3);

(5) Individual concerned with confidential matters affecting employee-employer relations;

(6) Part-time employee working less than twenty hours per week, except part-time employees included in unit (5);

(7) Temporary employee of three months' duration or less;

(8) Employee of the executive office of the governor or a household employee at Washington Place;

(9) Employee of the executive office of the lieutenant governor;

(10) Employee of the executive office of the mayor;

(11) Staff of the legislative branch of the State;

(12) Staff of the legislative branches of the counties, except employees of the clerks' offices of the counties;

(13) Any commissioned and enlisted personnel of the Hawaii national guard;

(14) Inmate, kokua, patient, ward or student of a state institution;

(15) Student help;

(16) Staff of the Hawaii labor relations board[; or]

(17) Employees of the Hawaii national guard youth challenge academy[.]; or

(18) Exempt hires of the department of education."

SECTION 3. Section 302A-602, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302A-602 Teachers; licenses and certificates. (a) No person shall serve as a teacher in the department without first having obtained a license from the Hawaii teacher standards board in such form as the Hawaii teacher standards board determines. The department shall establish types of certificates in the educational field and the requirements to qualify for those certificates issued to individuals who are not required to obtain a license pursuant to sections 302A-801 to 302A-808.

(b) Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, no person paid under the salary schedule contained in the unit 5 collective bargaining agreement shall serve as a teacher in the department without first having obtained a license pursuant to sections 302A-801 to 302A-808 from the Hawaii teacher standards board in such form as the Hawaii teacher standards board determines.

(c) Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, the department may employ unlicensed individuals as emergency hires pursuant to sections 302A-801 to 302A-808.

(d) Beginning with the 2005-2006 school year, the department may employ unlicensed individuals as exempt hires."

SECTION 4. Section 302A-603, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302A-603 Teaching without certificates or licenses; penalty. (a) Except as otherwise provided, before the 1997-1998 school year, whoever serves in the department as a teacher without holding an unrevoked certificate issued under sections 302A-602 to 302A-640, and 302A-701, shall be fined not more than $25.

(b) Beginning with the 1997-1998 school year, whoever serves in the department as a teacher, paid under the salary schedule contained in the unit 5 collective bargaining agreement, without holding an unrevoked or unsuspended license or credential issued under sections 302A-801 to 302A-808, shall be fined not more than $500.

(c) Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, an individual paid under the salary schedule contained in the unit 5 collective bargaining agreement, without holding an unrevoked license issued under sections 302A-801 to 302A-808, shall be fined not more than $500.

(d) Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, emergency hires shall not be subject to this penalty.

(e) Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, exempt hires shall not be subject to this penalty."

SECTION 5. Section 302A-633.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) The board of education shall appoint teaching assistants, educational assistants, bilingual/bicultural school-home assistants, school psychologists, psychological examiners, speech pathologists, athletic health care trainers, alternative school work/study assistants, alternative school educational/supportive services specialists, [and] alternative school project coordinators, and exempt hires as may be required to carry out the purposes of this chapter. The board, in consultation with the department of human resources development, shall prescribe the duties and qualifications for positions, adopt classification systems, classify and fix the compensation of positions accordingly, provide a classification appeals procedure, and establish probationary and other requirements for tenure that protects employees from being disciplined without proper cause."

SECTION 6. Section 302A-802, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) In the development of its standards, the board shall consider the existing teacher applicant pool that is available in the State and the level of the qualification of these applicants, as well as the nature and availability of existing preservice higher education teacher training programs. The board shall also consider alternative routes to licensing, such as national teacher examinations and performance-based standards congruent with professional or educational experience that certify or demonstrate competency in subject areas or programs taught in the public schools."

SECTION 7. Section 302A-804, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302A-804 Powers and duties of the department. The department shall retain all of its rights and powers except for the authority provided to the board under this subpart. The department's powers and duties under this subpart shall be limited to:

(1) Hiring, except in emergency and exempt situations as described in this chapter, licensed teachers to teach in their fields of licensing;

(2) Reporting data annually to the board about the supply of, and demand for, teachers, including the identification of shortage areas, out-of-field teaching assignments, numbers of teachers teaching out-of-field, numbers and types of courses and classes taught by out-of-field teachers, and numbers and types of students taught by out-of-field teachers;

(3) On an emergency, exempt, and case-by-case basis, hiring unlicensed individuals; provided that:

(A) A list of the names, work sites, teaching assignments, and progress toward licensing of these individuals shall be reported to the board and any changes shall be updated on a monthly basis by the department;

(B) There are no properly licensed teachers for the specific assignments for which the individuals are being hired; and

(C) No individual may be employed by the department on an emergency or exempt basis for more than four years. During this time the individual must demonstrate active pursuit of licensing in each year of employment;

(4) Submitting an annual report to the board documenting:

(A) The number of emergency and exempt hires by subject matter areas and by schools;

(B) The reasons and duration of employment for the emergency and exempt hiring enumerated in subparagraph (A);

(C) Individual progress toward licensing; and

(D) The department's efforts to address the shortages described in subparagraph (A); and

(5) Providing any other information requested by the board that is pertinent to its powers and duties."

SECTION 8. Section 302A-805, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302A-805 Teachers; license required; renewals. Beginning July 1, 2002, all new licenses shall be issued by the board. No person shall serve as a half-time or full-time teacher in a public school without first having obtained a license from the board under this subpart. All licenses issued by the board shall be valid only for the fields specified on the licenses and shall be renewable every five years if the individual continues to:

(1) Satisfy the board's licensing standards;

(2) Show evidence of successful teaching in the previous five years; and

(3) Satisfy the board's requirements for renewal of licenses.

Teachers whose licenses expire on June 30, 2002, or June 30, 2003, shall be granted an automatic extension of two years. No person shall be issued a license or teach on an emergency or exempt basis in the public schools without having first paid the fees established by the board in accordance with chapter 91."

SECTION 9. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

 

INTRODUCED BY:

 

 

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