Report Title:

Hawaii Teacher Standards Board; Appropriation

Description:

Appropriates funds to the Hawaii teacher standards board to implement and administer a support program for national board certification candidates in the DOE.

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2069

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE HAWAII TEACHER STANDARDS BOARD.

 

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

SECTION 1. The National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, a national organization with twenty partner states, including Hawaii, focused on improving student learning by ensuring that there is a caring, competent, and qualified teacher in every classroom.

The Hawaii policy group of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, composed of a representative group of educational stakeholders, completed an inventory of state policies relating to teacher quality and, based on this inventory, made recommendations for improving teaching in Hawaii. The recommendations encompassed five key areas:

(1) Establishing and implementing standards for students and teachers;

(2) Teacher preparation and professional development;

(3) Teacher recruitment and placing qualified teachers in all classrooms;

(4) Encouraging and rewarding teaching knowledge and skill; and

(5) Creating schools that are organized for student and teacher success.

One thing was clear: aside from home and societal factors, teacher quality is the single most influential factor in student achievement and that national board certification prompts candidates to analyze their practice in very profound ways. It is, therefore, important to continue to identify, support, recognize, and reward Hawaii teachers in the department of education who voluntarily undergo the national board certification process.

National board certification requires a tremendous commitment of time and professional risk-taking. The application fee represents a large financial investment. To be successful, certification candidates need a strong support program, access to the program and testing facilities, and release days to organize and prepare the documents and portfolio required for submittal.

Act 312, Session Laws of Hawaii 2001, assigned responsibility for administration of the national board candidate support program to the Hawaii teacher standards board. In the past two years the number of candidates increased from two in 2000 to seventy-four in 2001, and sixty-four in 2002. This Act continues the legislature’s commitment of supporting department of education teachers who voluntarily choose to pursue the rigorous process of national board certification.

This Act maintains the legislature’s commitment to support and recognize highly accomplished teaching by providing the Hawaii teacher standards board with continued funding for implementing and administering a program of support for national board certification candidates in the public schools.

The purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds to the Hawaii teacher standards board to implement Act 312.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $92,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for fiscal year 2004-2005, to maintain a national board certification candidate support program for public school teachers to be implemented and administered by the Hawaii teacher standards board.

SECTION 3. The national board certification candidate support program shall provide candidate support by hiring permanent staff to plan and coordinate the program. It shall also establish release days, provide facilitator and trainer stipends, training and training materials, and payment of transportation expenses to enable neighbor island candidates to attend candidate support sessions and assessment center exercises on Oahu.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2004.

INTRODUCED BY:

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