STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1304

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: S.B. No. 1270
                                     S.D. 1
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No.
1270, S.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to remove an onerous and
impractical requirement for the public schools by repealing the
requirement that not less than half of the study and instruction
in each school day in the first eight grades is devoted to
language arts, and instead requiring compliance with statewide
performance standards.

     Your Committee is using this measure as a vehicle for
another issue.  This bill and its companion, H.B. No. 1086, both
passed Third Reading in the chambers in which they were
introduced and subsequently crossed over to the other chamber.
By tradition, the companion measure that crosses over first
becomes the vehicle for further consideration in the legislative
process.  Since H.B. No. 1086 crossed over first, it has become
the vehicle for further consideration.

     Earlier in the session, your Committee heard S.B. No. 1273,
S.D. 2, entitled, relating to Criminal History Checks for Teacher
Trainers.  Testimony indicated that a portion of the bill dealing
with criminal history checks for private school teachers was
deleted by the Senate from the S.D. 1 version of the bill because
of the limited scope of the title.


 
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     Your Committee believes that the deleted portion of the bill
is important, and is using S.B. No. 1270 as a vehicle to advance
it.  Your Committee distributed a proposed draft of S.B. No.
1270, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, which deleted the contents of S.B. No.
1270, S.D. 1, and inserted language allowing private schools to
develop procedures to perform criminal history checks.  Testimony
was received on this draft bill.

     The Hawaii Association of Independent Schools and the
Attorney General testified in support of the draft bill.  

     At this time, private schools are not receiving criminal
history records from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The Attorney General testified that the FBI will not release
national criminal history record information to a non-
governmental agency.  Public agencies may not serve as a conduit
for information from the FBI to private schools because,
according to the Attorney General, the State Constitution
prohibits the use of public funds to benefit private educational
institutions.  Since public funds are used to fund state
personnel, they may not provide FBI information to private
schools.

     The Hawaii Association of Independent Schools testified that
private schools in Hawaii are using private investigative
agencies to gather criminal history records from the mainland.
However, the information from private sources is relatively
expensive and may be incomplete.

     Your Committee is concerned because private schools are not
able to access criminal history record information from the FBI.
This is a health and safety matter, not an educational matter,
that affects students who attend private schools.

     The Hawaii Association of Independent Schools testified that
it will pursue this matter further, with the intent of perhaps
proposing a bill next session.  Your Committee supports this
effort.

     Your Committee has amended S.B. No. 1270, S.D. 1, by
deleting its contents and inserting language authorizing private
schools to develop procedures to perform criminal history record
checks.

     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 S.B. No.
1270, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1270, S.D.
1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and
Hawaiian Affairs.


 
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                                 Page 3

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   KEN ITO, Chair