Report Title:

DOE Regional Education Agencies; Administrative Responsibilities

Description:

Establishes seven regional education agencies for the administration, organization, and delivery of educational and related school-based services at preschool, primary, and secondary school levels throughout the State of Hawaii. (SD2)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

289

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

H.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

S.D. 2


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to education.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

PART I

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii's public school, while improving, must find additional ways to enhance its performance. As the federal No Child Left Behind Act increasingly requires the nation's public schools to operate more effectively, the State must find ways to better use the resources at its disposal.

Currently, the administration of public schools in Hawaii is controlled at the state level by the board of education and the department of education. While centralizing services does provide certain advantages and enhances efficiency in many ways, a high-quality public school system must be built from the ground up. Schools must be able to receive certain services in a timely fashion without having to obtain the approval of the state administration. Additionally, schools in certain areas have needs that are common to those areas that could be handled more effectively by regional administration.

Decentralizing certain aspects of educational governance would allow the State to continue to enjoy the benefits of a strong statewide system while improving the department of education's ability to provide timely services to individual schools and complexes. Appointed local school boards serving various parts of the State and acting in concert with the decentralized administration would also be of significant benefit to the department of education. This cooperative effort would allow for better planning, policy-making, and program implementation both at the state level and at the school level.

The department of education currently has the authority to decentralize administrative support for fiscal, personnel, and procurement services. This type of structural change can play a significant role in developing the public school system, if implemented conscientiously. However, the current statute does not provide clear enough authority or mandates in this area.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:

(1) Decentralize administrative authority to regional education agencies encompassing multiple school complexes, to be administered by regional superintendents;

  1. Establish regional boards to govern the regional education agencies, whose members shall be appointed for initial terms to end December 31, 2004, and who may be re-appointed to subsequent terms;
  2. Provide for the legislature to adopt laws to create an electoral process and districts for regional boards who members would be elected, should a constitutional amendment be ratified to establish elected members;
  3. Establish principal advisory councils to provide input to the regional superintendents and governing boards; and
  4. Establish school complex-based management to reflect the new administrative structure of the public school system.

PART II

SECTION 2. Section 26-12, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§26-12 Department of education. (a) The department of education shall be headed by [an executive] a governing board to be known as the state board of education. The department of education shall comprise the public school system and the public library system.

[Under policies established by the board, the superintendent shall administer programs of education and public instruction throughout the State, including education at the preschool, primary, and secondary school levels, adult education, school library services, health education and instruction (not including dental health treatment transferred to the department of health), and such other programs as may be established by law.] (b) The superintendent, under policies established by the board of education, shall be responsible for ensuring the implementation of statewide educational policy, compliance with state and federal laws, and preparation and execution of a systemwide integrated budget and financial management system for the public school system. The public school system shall provide educational and related school-based services at the preschool, primary, and secondary school levels through seven regional education agencies that shall serve as the primary administrative and organizational units for the delivery of educational services. Each regional education agency shall be governed by a board of directors, and administered by a regional superintendent who shall serve as the chief administrative officer of the respective regional education agency as provided in section 302A-  .

(c) The state librarian, under policies established by the board of education, shall be responsible for the administration of programs relating to public library services and transcribing services for the blind.

The functions and authority heretofore exercised by the department of education (except dental health treatment transferred to the department of health), library of Hawaii, Hawaii county library, Maui county library, and the transcribing services program of the bureau of sight conservation and work with the blind, as heretofore constituted are transferred to the public library system established by this chapter.

The management contract between the board of supervisors of the county of Kauai and the Kauai public library association shall be terminated at the earliest time after November 25, 1959, permissible under the terms of the contract and the provisions of this paragraph shall constitute notice of termination, and the functions and authority heretofore exercised by the Kauai county library as heretofore constituted and the Kauai public library association over the public libraries in the county of Kauai shall thereupon be transferred to the public library system established by this chapter.

The management contracts between the trustees of the library of Hawaii and the Friends of the Library of Hawaii, and between the library of Hawaii and the Hilo library and reading room association, shall be terminated at the earliest time after November 25, 1959, permissible under the terms of the contracts, and the provisions of this paragraph shall constitute notice of termination.

Upon the termination of the contracts, the State or the counties shall not enter into any library management contracts with any private association; provided that in providing library services the board of education may enter into contracts approved by the governor for the use of lands, buildings, equipment, and facilities owned by any private association.

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the board of education may establish, specify the membership number and quorum requirements for, appoint members to, and disestablish a commission in each county to be known as the library advisory commission, which shall in each case sit in an advisory capacity to the board of education on matters relating to public library services in their respective county."

SECTION 3. Section 26-53, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§26-53 Deputies or assistants to department heads. [(a)] Effective January 1, 1989, and January 1, 1990, the salaries of deputies or assistants to the head of any department of the State, other than the department of education, shall be set by the governor within the range from $69,748 to $74,608 and $72,886 to $77,966 a year, respectively.

[(b) Effective January 1, 1989, and January 1, 1990, the salary of the deputy to the superintendent of education shall be $81,629 and $85,302 a year, respectively.]"

SECTION 4. Section 302A-101, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By adding new definitions of "regional board", "regional education agency", and "regional superintendent" to be appropriately inserted and to read:

""Regional board" means the regional board of directors of a regional education agency.

"Regional education agency" means the administrative and organizational structure comprising school complexes within a school board district for the purposes of delivering educational services to students in all public schools.

"Regional superintendent" means the chief administrative officer of the respective school complexes within a regional education agency."

2. By amending the definitions of "board" and "superintendent" to read:

""Board" means the state board of education.

"Superintendent" means the [superintendent] chief executive officer of the department of education."

3. By repealing the definition of "regional administrative unit".

[""Regional administrative unit" means a grouping of complexes established by the department for administrative support and organizational purposes."]

SECTION 5. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read:

"§302A- Regional education agencies; regional boards; regional superintendent. (a) There are established seven regional education agencies comprising school complexes within each region, as follows:

First regional education agency (Hawaii): the island of Hawaii comprised of the 1st through the 5th and a portion of the 6th (that portion found on the island of Hawaii) representative districts;

Second regional education agency (Maui): the islands of Maui, Molokai (including the county of Kalawao), Lanai, and Kahoolawe comprised of a portion of the 6th (that portion found on the island of Maui) and the 7th through the 10th representative districts;

Third regional education agency (Honolulu): that portion of the island of Oahu comprised of the 21st through the 41st representative districts;

Fourth regional education agency (Central Oahu): that portion of the island of Oahu comprised of the 11th through the 14th and the 45th representative districts;

Fifth regional education agency (Leeward Oahu): that portion of the island of Oahu comprised of the 42nd through the 44th, the 46th through the 48th and a portion of the 49th (that portion found on the island of Oahu) representative districts;

Sixth regional education agency (Windward Oahu): that portion of the island of Oahu comprised of the 15th through the 20th representative districts; and

Seventh regional education agency (Kauai): the islands of Kauai and Niihau comprised of a portion of the 49th (that portion found on the island of Kauai) and the 50th and 51st representative districts.

Upon the implementation of a new apportionment plan, the regional education agencies shall reflect the new districting scheme; provided that no regional education agency shall be required to include school complexes from more than county."

(b) Each regional education agency shall be governed by a regional board of directors to be composed of the following members:

(1) Two members to be appointed by the governor, two members each to be appointed by the governor from lists of nominees submitted by the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives;

(2) One member to be appointed by the governor from a list of nominees submitted by the state parent teacher student association;

(3) One member from each complex within the region, to be appointed by the principal advisory council with equal distribution between elementary and secondary schools;

(4) One student member to be selected by the regional superintendent; and

(5) For those regions with more than fifteen per cent military households, the Commander of the United States Pacific Command shall be requested to appoint a member.

(c) The terms of office of appointed regional board members shall be for two years; provided that the initial term of office shall begin on July 1, 2003, and continue through December 31, 2004. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appropriate appointing authority, and members may apply for reappointment to subsequent terms upon the expiration of their term. The regional board members shall serve without compensation. The regional board members shall select a chairperson of the regional board, who shall represent the regional board at state board of education meetings.

(d) The regional boards shall:

(1) Conduct monthly community meetings to solicit and receive input from the public and build consensus regarding matters within the region;

(2) Coordinate with and receive input from teachers, administrators, students, and other educational stakeholders regarding matters within the region;

(3) Appoint and perform annual reviews of the regional superintendents;

(4) Compile a priority list of capital improvement projects within each complex area and transmit the list to the board of education for evaluation and inclusion in the department's budget request;

(5) Prioritize repair and maintenance projects and expend aggregated discretionary funds for repair and maintenance allocated to schools within each complex area;

(6) Manage block grants or other funding provided for schools within each complex area;

(7) Gather and coordinate input from professionals within school complexes to assist in implementing educational reforms to ensure that curricula are coherent and sequential within and among schools in each school complex; and

(8) Select a common yearly, weekly, and daily schedule, as practicable, for schools within each school complex.

The monthly community meetings of the regional boards shall be scheduled on alternate weeks from the meetings of the state board of education.

(e) The regional superintendent shall be the chief administrative officer of the regional education agency, whose salary shall not exceed eighty per cent of the state superintendent's salary. The regional superintendent shall be responsible for the daily operation of the public schools located within the regional education agency, including allocation of regional and school-level personnel, procurement of goods and services, and management of state and federal financial resources allocated to the region. The regional superintendents shall establish within each school complex, a principal advisory council composed of each school's principal or the principal's designee. The regional superintendent shall convene the principal advisory council at least once each month during the school year, to solicit and to receive input from the principals regarding regional administrative policies, procedures, and operational issues of concern within their respective schools and school complexes."

2. By amending section 302A-1101 to read:

"§302A-1101 Department of education; board of education; superintendent of education. (a) There shall be a [principal executive department to be known as the department of education,] statewide public school system, which shall be [headed] governed by an elected policy-making board to be known as the state board of education. The board shall have power in accordance with law to formulate statewide educational policy, adopt statewide student performance standards and state assessment models, monitor [school success] student achievement, and to appoint the superintendent of education as the chief executive officer of the public school system.

(b) The board shall appoint, and may remove, the superintendent by a majority vote of its members. The salary of the superintendent of education shall be as provided in section 26-52(1). The superintendent:

(1) May be appointed without regard to the state residency provisions of section 78-1(b);

(2) May be appointed for a term of up to four years[; and]

(3) May be terminated only for cause[.]; and

(4) May appoint a deputy superintendent and assistant superintendents at a salary not to exceed eighty per cent of the superintendent's salary.

(c) The board shall invite the senior military commander in Hawaii to appoint a nonvoting military representative to the board, who shall serve for a two-year term without compensation. As the liaison to the board, the military representative shall advise the board regarding state education policies and departmental actions affecting students who are enrolled in public schools as family members of military personnel. The military representative shall carry out these duties as part of the representative's official military duties and shall be guided by applicable state and federal statutes, regulations, and policies and may be removed only for cause by a majority vote of the members of the board."

3. By amending section 302A-1102 to read:

"[[]§302A-1102[]] Department of education; [statewide and regional administrative services.] regional education agencies; roles and responsibilities. (a) The department, through the superintendent, shall [serve as the central support system] be responsible for the overall [administration] execution of statewide educational policy, [interpretation, and] development of standards for compliance with state and federal laws, and coordination and preparation of a systemwide school complex-based budget and financial management system for the public schools. [The department may establish regional administrative units to provide administrative support to the schools for personnel, fiscal, and procurement services. The regional administrative units may also be assigned responsibility for the administration and operation of special education programs and special schools.]

Under statewide policies established by the state board of education, the superintendent shall:

(1) Develop a state education plan with annual statewide goals for student achievement based upon the Hawaii content and performance standards;

(2) Act as a liaison to the regional education agencies and regional superintendents in the implementation of the state education plan;

(3) Manage state administrative support functions related to the implementation of statewide educational policy, development of standards for compliance with state and federal laws, and coordination and preparation of a systemwide school-complex based budget and financial management system for the public schools; and

(4) Provide training for board of education members and regional board members regarding current education policy issues and state or federal mandates affecting state educational programs and services.

(b) The regional education agencies, through the regional superintendents, shall be responsible for the delivery of educational and related school-based services within their respective regions, including education at the preschool, primary, and secondary school levels.

Under the direction of the regional boards, the regional superintendents shall:

(1) Develop and implement a regional education plan that ensures compliance with the state education plan goals and addresses the individual performance goals of the schools within the region;

(2) Allocate and manage financial resources and personnel as reflected in the complex-based budget and financial management system;

(3) Provide staff development for regional and school-level staff to support achievement of state and regional performance goals; and

(4) Act as a liaison to the state board of education and the state legislature."

PART III

SECTION 6. Section 89-10.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§89-10.6 [School/community-based] School complex-based management waiver. A [school or a learning support center participating in the school/community-based management program] regional superintendent may initiate a waiver from state board policies, rules, or procedures, including collective bargaining agreements, as provided [for] in section [302A-1126.] 302A-   ."

SECTION 7. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read:

"§302A- School complex-based management; implementation within regional education agencies; waivers. (a) School complex-based management shall be implemented within all regional education agencies. The governing boards of each regional education agency, in consultation with representatives of the school community, shall adopt guiding principles to support school complex-based management as it relates to the daily operation of the public schools. Any principal, on a case-by-case basis, may request from their regional superintendent, waivers from those guiding principles when implementation of school complex-based management would adversely impact individual student achievement or the school's attainment of educational goals as provided in the regional education plan.

(b) The regional superintendent may request from the board of education, a waiver of any board policy or department administrative rule that impedes the implementation of school complex-based management, including waivers to collective bargaining agreements as provided in section 89-10.6. The board, within thirty days of the request, shall indicate the board's approval or denial of the waiver. If the waiver is granted, it shall be for a period not to exceed two school years. If the waiver is denied, the board shall provide written reasons to the regional superintendent for the denial and allow the resubmission the request within thirty days of the notification of its denial.

(c) For the purposes of this section, "school complex-based management" means a philosophy of educational administration that primarily considers the needs of those persons directly affected by the educational programs and related school-based services provided in the public schools."

2. By amending the definition of "school-based budget flexibility" in section 302A-101 to read:

""School-based budget flexibility" means an operating budget preparation and [allocation] execution process that provides maximum flexibility to individual schools, school complexes, and [learning support centers] regional education agencies in the preparation and execution of their operating budgets."

3. By amending the definition of "school complex" in section 302A-101 to read:

""School complex" means a [grouping of schools established by the department for instructional, administrative, and organizational purposes.] high school and its geographically contiguous intermediate or middle and elementary schools within a regional education agency."

4. By amending section 302A-1505 to read:

"§302A-1505 Prioritization of repair and maintenance. (a) Each [school] regional superintendent shall meet with the department of accounting and general services on an annual basis to advise the department of school needs. Before any repair and maintenance projects for the upcoming fiscal year are implemented, each individual school administration shall prioritize and approve its repair and maintenance needs, and approve the scope of the implementation plan for the individual projects. After [schools have] the regional education agencies have prioritized their repair and maintenance projects, a statewide list shall be prepared and reviewed by the department of accounting and general services, and reviewed and approved by the department of education; provided that the department of education, in consultation with the appropriate regional superintendent, may make adjustments [among schools and districts] within each regional education agency. Each school repair and maintenance priority listing shall be submitted by the department of education to the department of accounting and general services for implementation. Each listing shall be posted electronically on the Internet. The department of accounting and general services shall implement the school repair and maintenance program in accordance with the priorities set forth by the department of education[.], in consultation with the regional superintendents.

(b) Prior to meeting with the department of accounting and general services to advise it of a school's repair and maintenance needs, the [school's principal and the business and fiscal officer] regional superintendent shall consider the recommendations made by the [school/community-based management council, if there is such a council at the school;] board of directors of the regional education agency, or the local school board, if the school is a new century charter school or a new century conversion charter school. [If there is no school/community-based management council or local school board, then the school's principal shall appoint a standing committee composed of a teacher, a member of the support staff, a parent, a student, and a community member.]

(c) In prioritizing a school's repair and maintenance needs, the department of accounting and general services[, the school's principal, and the business and fiscal officer] and the regional superintendent shall consider the availability of donated and discounted repair and maintenance services and materials that will be provided by community groups, volunteers, and businesses."

PART IV

SECTION 8. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2030.