STAND. COM. REP. NO. 425

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 323
                                     




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

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

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to require the Department of
Education to define what it means for a student to "attend either
a public or private school", with respect to students who attend
sectarian and nonsectarian private schools, for the purposes of
determining the student's compliance with the compulsory
attendance law.

     Specifically, this bill:

     (1)  Requires sectarian private schools to be licensed,
          supervised, certified, and otherwise regulated by the
          ecclesiastical authority for that religion or sect, by
          a nationally recognized accrediting agency recognized
          by the ecclesiastical authority for that religion or
          sect, by the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools,
          or by a nationally recognized accrediting agency
          recognized by the United States Secretary of Education;
          and


 
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     (2)  Requires nonsectarian private schools to be licensed,
          supervised, certified, or otherwise regulated by the
          Hawaii Association of Independent Schools or by a
          nationally recognized accrediting agency recognized by
          the United States Secretary of Education.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this bill
from the Hawaii Catholic Conference, Hawaii Catholic Schools, and
the parents of a seven-year-old child attending Holy Trinity
School.  Your Committee received comments from the Department of
Education confirming that there is a need to clarify what it
means for a student to be in attendance in either a public or
private school, and indicating a willingness to pursue this
matter through rulemaking.

     Your Committee finds that this bill recognizes the State's
legitimate interest in ensuring that the compulsory education law
(section 302A-1132, Hawaii Revised Statutes) is enforced, and is
consistent with the intent of this Legislature and previous
legislatures to leave the regulation of private schools largely-
-if not entirely--to the private sector.

     Your Committee declares that it is not the intent of this
bill to authorize the Department of Education to license,
supervise, certify, and otherwise regulate private schools, or to
perform any regulatory functions currently being performed by the
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

     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.
323 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to
the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   KEN ITO, Chair

 
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