STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1374

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 388

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 388, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Adopt the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard; and

 

     (2)  Require the Department of Education to obtain instructional materials in accessible formats for eligible students.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Disability and Communication Access Board, Hawaii State Committee of Blind Vendors, National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii, National Organization of Parents of Blind Children Hawaii, and eighteen individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Education.

 

     Your Committee finds that providing appropriate instructional materials for all students, including accessibility to appropriate instructional materials for students with disabilities, allows all students an equal opportunity to achieve academic success.  Presently, the Department of Education adheres to the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard and coordinates with the National Instructional Materials Access Center to provide accessible instructional materials for students.  However, existing state law pertaining to instructional materials requires publishers to adhere to requirements that are outdated due to technological advancements.  This measure conforms state requirements with federal law to ensure all students have timely access to instructional materials in appropriate accessible formats.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Amending the definition of "print instructional materials" to include:

 

          (A)  Digital instructional materials obtained in an appropriate accessible format for an eligible student; or

 

          (B)  Materials that can be provided by the National Instructional Materials Access Center in a valid National Instructional Materials Accessibility format;

 

     (2)  Authorizing, rather than requiring, the Department of Education to enter into a written contract with a publisher of print instructional materials to prepare and provide the National Instructional Materials Access Center electronic files containing the contents of the print materials;

 

     (3)  Authorizing the Department of Education to purchase new or innovative start-up instructional materials or instructional materials published by a Hawaii-based publisher on a pilot basis for up to one calendar year;

 

     (4)  Requiring the eligible student's individualized education program to identify the print instructional materials and other instructional materials, including but not limited to textbooks, articles, handouts, posters, bulletin boards, maps, charts, graphics, audio-visual presentations, digital instructional materials, and all other printed materials available to students in elementary and secondary classrooms, and other instructional materials to be used by students without disabilities; and

 

     (5)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 388, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 388, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

 

 

 

________________________________

MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair