STAND. COM. REP. NO.  462

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2015

 

RE:   H.B. No. 1251

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 1251 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to improve public charter schools' access to facilities by, among other things:

 

     (1)  Requiring state departments, when considering whether to close a particular facility, to give reasonable consideration to making all or portions of the facility available to public charter schools and pre-plus programs;

 

     (2)  Requiring state departments to identify and inventory suitable facilities for public charter schools and pre-plus programs;

 

     (3)  Requiring the Board of Education, in its annual report on public charter schools, to include information about facilities funding for public charter schools;

 

     (4)  Providing that beginning with the 2016-2017 fiscal year, and each subsequent fiscal year, the Legislature must consider making an appropriation and bond authorization to the State Public Charter School Commission for facilities funding for public charter schools that is separate from, and in addition to, any appropriation already made to them pursuant to law;

 

     (5)  Establishing a Charter School Facilities Funding Working Group within the State Public Charter School Commission;

 

     (6)  Appropriating funds for the Charter School Facilities Funding Working Group to allocate to public charter schools for facilities based on criteria developed by the State Public Charter School Commission;

 

     (7)  Authorizing the issuance of general obligation bonds to design, plan, construct, repair, and maintain public charter school facilities; and

 

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

 

     The State Public Charter School Commission, Hawaii Public Charter Schools Network, and Kamehameha Schools supported the measure.  The Hawaii State Teachers Association supported the intent of the measure.  The Office of Hawaiian Affairs supported the measure with amendments.  Rainbow Family 808 testified in opposition.  The Department of Budget and Finance submitted comments.

 

     Your Committee has amended the measure by:

 

     (1)  Specifying that state departments must identify to the State Public Charter School Commission and Executive Office on Early Learning suitable unused facilities;

 

     (2)  Requiring the State Public Charter School Commission to:

 

          (A)  Solicit applications from public charter schools that are interested in using and occupying all or portions of available facilities; and

 

          (B)  Submit a prioritized list of public charter schools to the Department of Education, which will make the final determination about which public charter schools, if any, will be allowed to use and occupy the facilities; and

 

     (3)  Changing the membership of the Charter School Facilities Funding Working Group by:

 

          (A)  Removing the chairpersons of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and House of Representatives Committee on Finance; and

 

          (B)  Adding the Comptroller; Superintendent of Education; a person with expertise in real estate, to be appointed by the chairperson of the State Public Charter School Commission; and a person with expertise in finance, to be appointed by the chairperson of the State Public Charter School Commission; and

 

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

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1251, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1251, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

ROY M. TAKUMI, Chair