STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1226

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 1642

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Education and Higher Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 1642, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TEACHERS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to improve teacher quality and help relieve the state's teacher shortage. Specifically, this bill:

(1) Creates a special fund and appropriates funds to support the Teacher Cadet Program;

(2) Appropriates funds to support the establishment of a two-year associate of arts teaching program at Leeward Community College;

(3) Supports the students and faculty in the University of Hawaii (UH) College of Education, including:

(a) Requiring UH to review its admission policies for the UH College of Education;

(b) Appropriating funds for additional faculty positions at UH; and

(c) Establishing and appropriating funds for the Educator Loan Forgiveness Program;

(4) Improves matters relating to the employment of newly hired teachers, including:

(a) Requiring schools to finalize teacher hiring before the end of the preceding fiscal year;

(b) Ensuring that new hires of the Department of Education (DOE) are paid in a timely manner and allowing payments of partial wages to mitigate the financial hardships created by delayed paychecks;

(c) Providing all newly hired teachers with a new teacher orientation handbook to assist in their transition into the DOE system;

(d) Establishing and appropriating funds for a Standardized Statewide Teacher Induction Program to mentor new teachers; and

(e) Appropriating funds for equipment, supplies, and transportation for DOE;

(5) Facilitates the licensure of employees entering the DOE system by expanding the methods by which individuals may become licensed;

(6) Establishing various initiatives and appropriating funds for professional development schools and programs for teachers, including creating the Educational Incentive Program to reimburse certain fees such as those paid for tuition and textbooks, by Hawaii-resident public school teachers who pursue professional development coursework;

(7) Establishing various initiatives and appropriating funds to improve teacher retention;

(8) Offering various tax incentives designed to recruit and retain teachers; and

(9) Offering various incentives for teachers to improve their skills, including incentives to:

(a) Become master teachers who can serve as resources for other teachers; and

(b) Pursue National Board Certification.

DOE testified in support of this bill. A concerned individual supported this measure in part. UH and the Hawaii State Teachers Association supported the intent of this bill. The Department of Taxation opposed this measure. The Department of Budget and Finance, Hawaii Teacher Standards Board (HTSB), Tax Foundation of Hawaii, and a concerned individual offered comments.

Your Committees have amended this bill by:

(1) Clarifying that UH shall increase its faculty by five additional full-time equivalent teacher education faculty positions each year until fiscal year 2015, only if recruitment to the college of education warrants the need for additional faculty;

(2) Deleting the provisions creating the Educator Loan Forgiveness Program, since this program already exists;

(3) Removing the requirement that DOE work with HTSB and other Hawaii teacher education institutions to use performance portfolio assessments during the induction period for newly hired teachers;

(4) Requiring HTSB to report to the legislature on its policies and progress relating to teacher licensing; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Higher Education that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1642, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1642, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Higher Education,

 

____________________________

TOMMY WATERS, Chair

____________________________

ROY TAKUMI, Chair