STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3138

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.C.R. No. 59
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education and Technology, to which was
referred S.C.R. No. 59 entitled: 

     "SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE OMBUDSMAN TO
     INVESTIGATE AND OBTAIN INFORMATION REGARDING GEOGRAPHIC
     EXCEPTIONS GRANTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to request the Ombudsman to
investigate and obtain information about geographic exceptions
for public school attendance granted by the Department of
Education.

     Specifically, the Ombudsman is to include in its report
which schools experience significant losses in enrollment due to
geographic exceptions, which schools students transfer to, and
why students leave certain schools.

     Testimony in support of the measure was received from the
Department of Education.

     Your Committee finds that the purpose of geographic
exceptions is to provide parents with school choice within the
limitations of a receiving school's facility capacity.  Although
the DOE collects data annually on this issue, there has been no
comprehensive analysis and investigation on the effectiveness and
system-wide impact of the geographic exceptions as a school
choice vehicle.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3138
                                   Page 2


     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Education and Technology that is attached to this
report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of
S.C.R. No. 59 and recommends that it be referred to the Committee
on Ways and Means.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   DAVID Y. IGE, Chair

 
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