STAND. COM. REP. NO.  354

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

 

RE:   H.B. No. 1014

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Higher Education and Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 1014 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to improve the recruitment and retention of qualified teachers for Hawaii's public schools by, among other things:

 

     (1)  Changing the membership and reporting schedule of the Performance Standards Commission;

 

     (2)  Removing the reference to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the grades currently being tested, in anticipation of possible changes to the federal law;

 

     (3)  Providing for alternative assessments, including those based on the academic growth of students;

 

     (4)  Clarifying the dual purposes of the Hawaii Educator Loan Program;

 

     (5)  Appropriating funds to the Hawaii Educational Policy Center to:

 

          (A) Staff the Performance Standards Commission;

 

          (B) Work with the Department of Education (DOE) and other educational research organizations to develop alternative assessment tools, including a comprehensive "growth model" to measure student achievement over time; and

 

          (C) Provide independent comment and analysis on issues before the Legislature, Board of Education, and DOE;

 

     (6)  Appropriating funds for various programs to:

 

          (A)  Increase the capacity of the University of Hawaii (UH) College of Education to educate qualified teachers;

 

          (B)  Meet federal requirements for institutional support of disability studies; and

 

          (C)  Expand teacher professional development and mentoring;

 

          and

 

     (7)  Appropriating funds for the Office of School Redesign.

 

     The UH Office of School Redesign and a concerned individual testified in support of this bill.  DOE and UH supported the intent of this measure.  A concerned individual opposed this bill.  The Hawaii Teacher Standards Board offered comments.

 

     Your Committees have amended this bill by:

 

     (1)  Removing the change in percentage of the total amount of the loan and interest waived, and the number of years that the waiver shall occur, under the Hawaii Educator Loan Program;

 

     (2)  Deleting the appropriations for the Hawaii Educator Loan Program; and

 

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.


 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Higher Education and Education that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1014, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1014, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Higher Education and Education,

 

 

____________________________

ROY TAKUMI, Chair

 

____________________________

JERRY L. CHANG, Chair