HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

136

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU TO CONDUCT A STUDY ON THE FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING AN ATTORNEY POSITION TO REPRESENT THE INTERESTs OF STUDENTS IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCEEDINGS that affect the number of instructional days and hours offered by the department of education.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the state budget deficit has resulted in some public employee unions accepting furloughs; and

 

     WHEREAS, one union, the Hawaii State Teachers Association, agreed to seventeen furlough days for the 2009-2010 school year; and

 

     WHEREAS, on furlough days, teachers do not report to work and there is no instruction for public school students in Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, the implementation of furloughs has caused the number of instructional days for Hawaii public schools to be reduced from one hundred eighty days per school year to one hundred sixty-three, which is the lowest in the nation; and

 

     WHEREAS, the shorter school year puts the Hawaii public school system at risk of losing accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Schools and at risk of falling further behind in the No Child Left Behind program and eighth grade reading and math scores; and

 

     WHEREAS, the existing collective bargaining system, as it applies to the public school system, does not adequately protect the interests of the students that the Department of Education is intended to serve; rather it negatively affects public education by putting the concerns of adults before the needs of students; and

 

     WHEREAS, an attorney who represents the interests of public school students in collective bargaining proceedings that affect the number of instructional days and hours offered by the Department of Education would greatly benefit public school students; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the Senate concurring, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to conduct a study on the feasibility of establishing an attorney position to represent, protect, and advance the interests of all public school students in collective bargaining proceedings that affect the number of instructional days and hours offered by the Department of Education; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to consider the qualifications, duties, and responsibilities of the attorney position and the appropriate salary for the position; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2011; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Chairperson of the Board of


Education, the Superintendent of Education, and the President of the Hawaii State Teachers Association.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Department of Education; Collective Bargaining; Advocate to Represent Interests of Students.