STAND. COM. REP. NO. 76

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1308

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Education and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 1308 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to transfer functions and duties of the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board to the Board of Education.

 

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by one state agency.  Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by four state agencies, two private organizations, and one individual.  One state agency submitted comments.  Copies of written testimony are available for review on the Legislature's website.

 

     Your Committee finds that Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 83, S.D. 1, 2008, requested the Auditor to conduct a study of the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, including:

 

(1)  Organizational placement of the Board as an administratively attached agency to the Department of Education;

 

(2)  The functions and operations of the Board and their similarity to other agencies;

 

(3)  The Board's long-range planning in relation to appropriate policy foundations, benchmarks, and accountability mechanisms;

 

(4)  The Board's appeals process; and

 

(5)  The capabilities of the Board's web-based system, implemented in 2006.

 

Your Committee understands that the Auditor expects to submit a final report to the Legislature by the middle of February 2009.  Until the final report is available, your Committee believes this measure provides a vehicle to promote further discussion.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Clarifying that the Board of Education shall adopt policies in accordance with chapters 91 and 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

 

     (2)  Deleting a reference to the Teacher Standards Board authorization to set and administer its own budget; and

 

     (3)  Amending the effective date to July 1, 2040, for the purpose of encouraging further discussion.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1308, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1308, 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 and Housing,

 

 

 

____________________________

NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair