Report Title:

Education; Innovation Initiatives

 

Description:

Establishes the Hawaii Excellence Through Science and Technology Academy Program to increase the readiness and motivation of public high school graduates to pursue post secondary training and career options in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.  Establishes the Fostering Inspiration and Relevance Through Science and Technology Pre-academy Program.  Establishes a professional development program to provide practicing public elementary, middle, and high school science and mathematics teachers with opportunities to increase their knowledge and understanding of recent developments in science, technology, and mathematics.  Provides stipends as an initiative for individuals who hold degrees in STEM subjects to obtain teaching certificates through the UH's post baccalaureate certificate in secondary education program.  Creates the Business and Education Internship and Mentorship Program.  Establishes an Eminent Scholars Program to be funded by the State Akamai Investment Matching Special Fund, to enable UH to provide matching funds for donations to establish at least five permanently endowed chairs in the STEM disciplines at UH.  Appropriates funds.  (HB1268 HD3)

 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1268

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

H.D. 3

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT


 

 

RELATING TO INNOVATION IN EDUCATION.

 

 

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

 


     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that Hawaii's longstanding desire for economic growth, diversification, and sustainability, which benefits all residents, depends on the strengthening of our state's human resources.

     Investing in the preparation of a highly-skilled workforce and in innovation as a driver of economic development lays the foundation for Hawaii's continued prosperity and ability to preserve a high quality of life for all its residents, and enables the State to rise to the challenge of globalization.

     Therefore, the legislature believes it is crucial to make these investments.  The purpose of this Act is to:

(1)  Develop a manageable, expandable, comprehensive system of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academies and pre-academies, based on the successful CISCO and construction academy models, that will focus on developing STEM skills in children from their middle school through high school years;

(2)  Improve the quality of STEM teaching in Hawaii's schools by providing enhanced professional development opportunities for practicing teachers and attracting highly qualified people with STEM degrees to the teaching profession;

(3)  Increase opportunities for high school and college students to gain experience through internships; and

(4)  Increase the quality of STEM education in Hawaii's postsecondary education institutions through the creation of endowed chairs in the STEM disciplines.

     SECTION 2.  (a)  There is established within the University of Hawaii community college system, the Hawaii excellence through science and technology academy program to increase the readiness and motivation of public high school graduates to pursue post secondary training and career options in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.  The program shall place priority on engaging all students to better prepare them for graduation and enable them to transition to the colleges of their choice without the need for remediation.

     (b)  The program shall partner with the department of education, interested public high schools, and appropriate public, non-profit and private agencies, to establish individual Hawaii excellence through science and technology academies at selected public high schools throughout the state.  School participation in the program shall be on a voluntary basis.  The academies:

(1)  Shall be located on space on or adjacent to the campus of the high school, as provided by the high school;

(2)  Shall include a lead instructor employed by the community college system;

(3)  May include the following:

(A)  Additional qualified instructors hired by the community colleges; and

(B)  Teachers, including teachers from the department of education, if they have received certification training from the community college system;

(4)  Shall have all instructors certified to teach according to both department of education and community college standards;

(5)  Shall offer courses that provide students with both high school and University of Hawaii community college academic credit to the maximum extent possible; and

(6)  Shall work with the host high school to implement required academic programs as well as project-based, contextual learning programs designed primarily for grades eleven and twelve for math, science, and technology, coupled with math development for grades nine and ten.

     (c)  Each of the seven community colleges of the University of Hawaii system shall make efforts to partner with selected public high schools on their respective islands to establish the academies.  Each community college shall consult regularly with the respective county economic development boards, workforce investment boards, and other stakeholders to advise them of and receive input on their plans and progress in developing the academies.

     (d)  The academies shall support the partnership of the University of Hawaii and the department of education in the American diploma project, which establishes a dialogue and joint curriculum assessment between teachers from high school and college to ensure a smooth transition from high school to college and to improve the ability of students to meet their educational and career objectives.

     (e)  The program shall develop performance measures to ensure that the academies are contributing substantially and directly to an increase in public high school graduates who ultimately enter post-secondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs and pursue related occupations.

     (f)  The program shall be headed by a director and staffed by one support specialist, one secretary, and one fiscal/records support position.

     SECTION 3.  (a)  There is established within the University of Hawaii, the fostering inspiration and relevance through science and technology pre-academy program to:

(1)  With respect to public middle schools, stimulate the interest and achievement of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills and help prepare those students for entry into the Hawaii excellence through science and technology academy program beginning in ninth grade; and

(2)  With respect to students enrolled in the Hawaii excellence through science and technology academies, support and complement the academic programs of the Hawaii excellence through science and technology academy's with contextual learning projects.

     (b)  The pre-academy program shall partner with the Hawaii excellence through science and technology academies, other relevant programs within the University of Hawaii system, the department of education, interested public schools in areas served by Hawaii excellence through science and technology academies, and appropriate public and private agencies, to establish a program of contextual learning for middle school students in science, technology, engineering, and math.  The program shall also provide contextual learning programs for students enrolled in the Hawaii excellence through science and technology academies in cooperation with the Hawaii excellence through science and technology academy staff.

     (c)  School participation in the pre-academy program shall be on a voluntary basis.  The pre-academy program shall:

(1)  Be located on space provided by the selected public school;

(2)  Be provided logistical support by the selected public school;

(3)  Employ staff and affiliated contextual learning and teacher training specialists who shall strive to tailor the nature and mix of the contextual learning projects and training for teachers to the needs of each individual school served; and

(4)  Include and provide direction for a robotics and space contextual learning program and research experiences for teachers program.

     (d)  The pre-academy program shall be headed by a director and staffed by a secretary and six field staff as follows:

(1)  Two staff members for Oahu;

(2)  Two staff members for the island of Hawaii;

(3)  One staff member for the county of Kauai; and

(4)  One staff member for the county of Maui.

When appropriate, the functions of the field staff may be contracted to qualified private or nonprofit providers.

     (e)  There is established the robotics and space contextual learning program which shall develop science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills in students participating in the fostering inspiration and relevance through science and technology pre-academy program and the Hawaii excellence through science and technology academy programs, through robotics- and space technology-based contextual projects and competitions.  The robotics and space contextual learning program shall be headed by a state coordinator and employ two field staff.  The coordinator and staff shall coordinate and cooperate with the director and staff of the fostering inspiration and relevance through science and technology pre-academy program and Hawaii excellence through science and technology academy programs to establish an integrated system of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related, contextual learning programs under the administration of the pre-academy program.  The robotics and space contextual learning program shall also:

(1)  Work with existing programs to improve and expand activities, including but not limited to:

(A)  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Explorer schools;

(B)  For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology robotics competitions;

(C)  For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology lego league;

(D)  For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology vex challenge;

(E)  Botball educational robotics program; and

(F)  National underwater robotics challenge;

and

(2)  Recruit, train, and support volunteer teachers and other mentors to conduct robotics and space-related programs at the school level.

     (f)  There is established the research experiences for teachers program, the purpose of which is to support the development of public middle school teacher skills, knowledge, and development of public middle school curriculum materials in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subject areas, with a particular focus on wireless communications, which shall:

(1)  Educate teachers in wireless communications and engineering;

(2)  Enhance teacher research skills through the use of software and innovative uses of equipment;

(3)  Provide teacher participants with hands-on research experiences;

(4)  Support teachers in developing classroom lessons and program activities which meet their course objectives and student performance standards; and

(5)  Provide opportunities to share and collaborate with other teacher participants to ensure successful implementation of curricula and programs.

The research experiences for teachers program shall be administered by the University of Hawaii college of engineering in cooperation and coordination with the fostering inspiration and relevance through science and technology pre-academy program.

     (g)  The director and staff of the fostering inspiration and relevance through science and technology pre-academy program shall develop contextual learning projects and summer science, technology, engineering, and mathematics training programs for public elementary, middle, and high school teachers.

     (h)  The fostering inspiration and relevance through science and technology pre-academy program shall develop performance measures to ensure that all programs conducted under the pre-academy programs at selected public schools are contributing substantially and directly to an increase in student performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics academics and matriculation into the Hawaii excellence through science and technology academy program.

     SECTION 4.  (a)  There is established within the University of Hawaii college of education, a professional development program to provide practicing public elementary, middle, and high school science and mathematics teachers with opportunities to increase their knowledge and understanding of recent developments in science, technology, and mathematics.

     (b)  The program shall be available to certificated and non-certificated teachers.

     (c)  The process of designing the program shall include an evaluation of best practices in other school jurisdictions.

     (d)  In recognition that the year-round public school calendar has shortened the summer period, that not all schools operate using the same academic calendar, and that programs throughout the year, offered in a variety of formats, would facilitate immediate implementation in the classroom, the program shall have the following attributes:

     (1)  Flexibility.  The program shall provide a variety of options designed to meet the specific needs of Hawaii's teachers, which may include summer institutes, a combination of summer, after school, or weekend institutes, distance learning through video conferencing or other mechanisms, and sites on the neighbor islands; and

     (2)  Accountability.  The program shall track student outcomes derived from participation in the program.

     SECTION 5.  Section 13 of this Act provides funding to support the recruitment program currently funded by the federal Department of Education Transition to Teaching Program, which provides stipends as an initiative for individuals who hold degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to obtain teaching certificates through the University of Hawaii's post baccalaureate certificate in secondary education program.  The University of Hawaii's transition to teaching grant is scheduled to expire in 2008.

     SECTION 6.  (a)  There is established within the department of business, economic development, and tourism, the business and education internship and mentorship program to establish, with the cooperation of educational institutions, internship, mentorship, and other experiential learning arrangements within the for-profit, nonprofit, and government sectors, for public high school students and graduates attending college in Hawaii or elsewhere.

     (b)  The program shall provide students with working experience to improve their career choices and to provide an opportunity for employers to establish relationships with students. 

     (c)  The department may contract with appropriate for-profit, nonprofit, or government entities to implement the program.

     SECTION 7.  (a)  There is established, within the high technology development corporation, an eminent scholars program to be funded by the state akamai investment matching special fund, to enable the University of Hawaii to provide matching funds for donations to establish at least five permanently endowed chairs in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines at the University of Hawaii.

     (b)  All funds appropriated for the akamai investment matching program shall be deposited into the special fund and invested until the board of directors of the high technology development corporation allocates the funds to the University of Hawaii to match private donations on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

     SECTION 8.  Chapter 206M, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part I to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§206M-      State akamai investment matching special fund.  (a)  There is established the state akamai investment matching special fund, into which shall be deposited appropriations made by the state legislature and matching private donations, to pay for the expenses of administering the eminent scholars program and to provide funds to establish permanently endowed chairs in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines at the University of Hawaii.

     (b)  The board shall administer the fund with the advice of the Hawaii innovation council.

     (c)  The board may contract with a qualified person or appoint employees as provided in section 206M-3, to administer the fund.

     (d)  The director of budget and finance shall invest moneys in the fund not currently needed to meet the obligations of the fund in the same manner as other public funds may be invested.

     (e)  No state appropriations deposited into the fund shall be expended unless matched by private funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

     (f)  Moneys remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall not be returned to the general fund.


     (g)  The board shall take into consideration the following

criteria before approving state matching funds to establish

an endowed chair:

     (1)  The ability of the chair to contribute to Hawaii's economic development;

     (2)  The ability of the chair to make a significant contribution to the University of Hawaii's academic quality;

     (3)  The ability of the chair to obtain significant amounts of research funds from highly competitive grant sources each year; and

     (4) The field of the proposed chair and the subject of the chair's research at the University of Hawaii and in the state, size, and scope of related industries, and other relevant factors.

     (h)  The board shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to implement this section, including but not limited to:

(1)  Rules to determine which University of Hawaii departments may be classified as belonging to the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics disciplines; and

(2)  Rules to establish the application process for the University of Hawaii to request funding to support an endowed chair."

     SECTION 9.  Section 206M-3.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "[[]§206M-3.5[]]  Annual reports.  The development corporation shall report [annually] to the legislature twenty days prior to the convening of [the] every regular session on the impact of the program on:

     (1)  Increasing the awareness of the federal small business innovation research program and the number of companies submitting proposals to federal agencies;

     (2)  Increasing the number of phase I awards received by Hawaii businesses under the small business innovation research program; [and]

     (3)  Increasing the number of phase I to phase II conversions by Hawaii businesses[.]; and

     (4)  Funding permanently endowed chairs in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines at the University of Hawaii."

     SECTION 10.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $      or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008 and the sum of $      or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009 to establish the Hawaii excellence through science and technology academy program.

     The sums appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii for the purposes of section 2.

     SECTION 11.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $      or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008 and the sum of $      or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009 to establish the fostering inspiration and relevance through science and technology pre-academy program, of which:

     (1)  $      for fiscal year 2007-2008 and $      for fiscal         year 2008-2009 shall be expended for the robotics and              space contextual learning program;

     (2)  $      for fiscal year 2007-2008 and $      for fiscal         year 2008-2009 shall be expended for the research              experiences for teachers program; and

     (3)  $      for fiscal year 2007-2008 and $      for fiscal         year 2008-2009 shall be expended for additional                    contextual learning programs.

     The sums appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii for the purposes of section 3.

     SECTION 12.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $      or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008 and the sum of $      or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009 for a professional development program within the University of Hawaii college of education to provide practicing public elementary, middle, and high school science and mathematics teachers with opportunities to increase their knowledge and understanding of recent developments in science, technology, and mathematics.

     The sums appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii college of education for the purposes of section 4.

     SECTION 13.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $      or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008 and the sum of $      or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009 to provide stipends as an initiative for individuals who hold degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to obtain teaching certificates through the University of Hawaii's post baccalaureate certificate in secondary education program.

     The sums appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii college of education for the purposes of section 5.

     SECTION 14.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $      or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008 and the sum of $      or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009 for a business and education internship and mentorship program within the department of business, economic development, and tourism.

     The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of business, economic development, and tourism for the purposes of section 6.

     SECTION 15.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $      or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008 and the sum of $      or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009 for the state akamai investment matching special fund. 

     The sums appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii for the purposes of section 7.

SECTION 16.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 17.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2034.