STAND. COM. REP. NO. 560

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2001

RE: S.B. No. 94

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 94 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to propose an amendment to the Hawaii State Constitution to make the student representative to the Board of Education a voting member with the exception of voting on personnel matters.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Board of Education and its student representative individually, the Hawaii State Student Council, the State Student Conference, and two students.

Your Committee finds that the Board of Education has benefited from having a student representative to voice the concerns of students before the Board. The Board is able to be more responsive to the needs of our students if it gains input directly from those attending our schools on a daily basis.

Under the State Constitution, the student member of the Board of Education is a nonvoting member. Your Committee believes that it may be appropriate to give the student member voting rights, with the exception of voting on personnel matters. Therefore, your Committee supports this measure, to let the people of Hawaii decide this issue.

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 S.B. No. 94 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

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

____________________________

NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair