STAND. COM. REP. NO. 372

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1347

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Education and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 1347 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SEX TRAFFICKING PREVENTION,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the Department of Education to offer training for teachers, educational officers, and school-based behavioral health specialists on sex trafficking prevention and response.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii State Teachers Association, Democratic Party of Hawaii Hawaiian Affairs Caucus, Democratic Party of Hawaii Education Caucus, Imua Alliance, Susannah Wesley Community Center, Pacific Survivor Center, Hawaii Association of School Psychologists, and six individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from Harm Reduction Hawaii.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Education.

 

     Your Committees find that sexual violence is a serious and ongoing threat to the safety, health, and well-being of children and young people in Hawaii.  Recognizing and identifying indicators, such as social isolation, removal from the home, and cultivation of dependency, are key in providing greater protection for children who are being exploited or who may be at risk for future sexual exploitation.  Because of the amount of time students spend at school, sexual abuse and sex trafficking prevention training for educators and other school staff can facilitate interventions with students who may be at risk of sex trafficking or exploitation or experiencing sexual abuse.  This measure will assist teachers and educational officers with resources to better protect Hawaii's children and young people from sexual abuse and sex trafficking throughout the State.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1347 and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Human Services,

 

________________________________

JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair

 

________________________________

MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair