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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.              
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEFINE WHAT IT MEANS
    FOR A STUDENT TO "ATTEND EITHER A PUBLIC OR PRIVATE
    SCHOOL" FOR THE PURPOSES OF DETERMINING THE STUDENT'S
    COMPLIANCE WITH THE COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE LAW.


 1        WHEREAS, Act 188, Session Laws of Hawaii 1995, repealed
 2   the law requiring the Department of Education to permit
 3   sectarian and nonsectarian private schools, and to certify the
 4   personnel of these private schools; and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, in the process of repealing these laws, the
 7   Legislature also repealed the law that based compliance with
 8   the compulsory attendance law on the issuance of a permit to
 9   establish and conduct a private school; and
10   
11        WHEREAS, Act 188 did not alter the applicability of the
12   compulsory attendance law to students who attend private
13   schools, and did not diminish the State's legitimate interest
14   in ensuring that the law is enforced; and
15   
16        WHEREAS, the Department of Education confirmed the need to
17   clarify what it means for a student to be in attendance in
18   either a public or private school, and indicated a willingness
19   to pursue this matter through rulemaking; now, therefore,
20   
21        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
22   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
23   of 1999, that the Department of Education is requested to
24   define what it means for a student to "attend either a public
25   or private school", with respect to students who attend
26   sectarian and nonsectarian private schools, for the purposes of
27   determining the student's compliance with the compulsory
28   attendance law; and
29   
30        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is
31   requested to adopt rules that are consistent with the intent of
32   the Legislature to leave the regulation of private schools
33   largely--if not entirely--to the private sector; and
34   
35        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is
36   requested to avoid the adoption of rules that would enable the

 
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 1   Department to license, supervise, certify, and otherwise
 2   regulate private schools, or to perform any regulatory
 3   functions currently being performed by the Department of
 4   Commerce and Consumer Affairs; and
 5   
 6        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 7   Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of
 8   Education, the Superintendent of Education, and the Director of
 9   Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
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13                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________