STAND. COM. REP. NO.689

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 1700

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1700, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHARTER SCHOOLS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require all funds for new century charter schools and new century conversion charter schools to be appropriated by the Legislature and distributed by a charter school education agency under a new established budget program for charter schools, EDN 110.

In addition, this measure:

(1) Establishes a charter school education agency to provide administrative oversight of charter schools, and attaches the agency to the Department of Education for administrative purposes;

(2) Requires the charter school education agency to be governed by a nine-member board of directors appointed by the charter schools and administered by an executive director appointed by the board of directors;

(3) Requires the Legislature, based upon the projected enrollment of a charter school, to appropriate for each school an amount based upon the average per pupil cost of the Department of Education for the previous year;

(4) Requires the Legislature to appropriate a base per pupil amount for each general and special education student and a supplemental amount for each special education student based upon a per pupil weighted count formula;

(5) Requires the Department of Education and charter school representatives to develop a list of central services that the Department may offer for purchase at an annual cost, to be negotiated between an individual charter school and the Department;

(6) Requires a charter school to develop and provide special education and related services within a student's individualized education program if the student is eligible for special education and related services;

(7) Appropriates an unspecified sum to the charter school education agency for fiscal year 2003-2004 for EDN 110 - New Century Charter Schools and New Century Conversion Charter Schools; and

(8) Requires the Department of Budget and Finance to make allocations directly to charter schools for the fiscal year 2003-2004 in order to enable the schools to access state funds prior to the establishment of the charter school education agency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1700, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair