REPORT TITLE:
New Century Schools

DESCRIPTION:
Allows the governor to designate Kapolei middle school, Kapolei
high school, and future public schools as new century schools by
executive order.  Requires the governor to appoint the members of
an initial new century school board.  (HB1110, HD1)

 
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                                                        1110
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO NEW CENTURY SCHOOLS.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that as long as a public
 
 2 school complies with the requirements that it:
 
 3      (1)  Be free to all attending students;
 
 4      (2)  Have admissions policies which are non-discriminatory;
 
 5      (3)  Comply with statewide student performance standards;
 
 6           and
 
 7      (4)  Comply with the assessment and accountability systems
 
 8           established for all other public schools,
 
 9 a school should otherwise be free from statutory and regulatory
 
10 requirements that tend to inhibit or restrict the school's
 
11 ability to make decisions relating to the provision of
 
12 educational services to students attending the school.
 
13      To nurture the ideal of more autonomous and flexible
 
14 decision making at the school level, new schools currently under
 
15 and scheduled for construction can be designated as new century
 
16 schools by the governor.
 
17      These schools will be empowered with greater flexibility and
 
18 autonomy from existing statutes, rules, policies, and procedures
 
19 that limit their ability to achieve greater educational results.
 

 
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 1      In furtherance of the effort to create greater flexibility,
 
 2 autonomy, and responsiveness to school needs in exchange for the
 
 3 potential of improved educational outcomes and accountability,
 
 4 each new century school will have an elected governing board that
 
 5 will be independent from and autonomous of the state board of
 
 6 education.  The initial governing board of the new century school
 
 7 will be appointed by the governor and will subsequently be
 
 8 elected by the school's community from among the parents of
 
 9 students attending the school, teachers, support staff, and
 
10 interested community members.  The governing board will have the
 
11 authority to set policy for the school and to hire a principal,
 
12 who will serve as the chief executive officer of the school.
 
13      SECTION 2.  The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding
 
14 a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as
 
15 follows:
 
16                             "CHAPTER
 
17                        NEW CENTURY SCHOOLS
 
18      §   -1  New century schools.  Notwithstanding section
 
19    -2(a) to the contrary, Kapolei middle school and Kapolei high
 
20 school may be designated as new century schools by executive
 
21 order of the governor, subject to the requirements of this
 
22 chapter.
 
23      §   -2 Designation of new century schools.(a)
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 Notwithstanding section    -1 to the contrary, the governor may
 
 2 issue an executive order designating a school scheduled for
 
 3 construction after the effective date of this chapter as a new
 
 4 century school.  The executive order shall set forth the
 
 5 provisions by which the school board of a new century school
 
 6 shall manage the operations and administration of the school.
 
 7      (b)  New century schools shall receive an allocation of
 
 8 state general funds on a per student basis that is equal to the
 
 9 statewide per pupil expenditure; provided that the allocation for
 
10 self-contained special education students and for other special
 
11 education students shall be adjusted appropriately to reflect the
 
12 additional expenses incurred for the students in these programs.
 
13      (c)  All federal and other financial support for new century
 
14 schools shall be equal to all other public schools; provided that
 
15 if administrative services are provided to a new century school
 
16 by the department of education, the school shall reimburse the
 
17 department for the actual costs of the administrative services in
 
18 an amount that does not exceed 6.5 per cent of the school's
 
19 allocation.  Any new century school shall be eligible to receive
 
20 any financial grant or award for which any other public school
 
21 may submit a proposal.  All additional funds that are generated
 
22 by the school board of a new century school shall be considered
 
23 supplementary and may be expended at the discretion of the school
 

 
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 1 board for the new century school.
 
 2      (d)  The department of education shall require every new
 
 3 century school to be evaluated by the same assessment instruments
 
 4 as other other public schools and to conduct self-evaluations.
 
 5 The self-evaluation process shall include, but not be limited to,
 
 6 the following:
 
 7      (1)  The identification and adoption of benchmarks to
 
 8           measure and evaluate administrative and instructional
 
 9           programs as provided in this chapter; and
 
10      (2)  The impact upon the students of the new century school.
 
11      (e)  The department of education shall evaluate each new
 
12 century school four years after its establishment to assure
 
13 compliance with statewide student performance standards.  Upon a
 
14 determination by the department of education that student
 
15 achievement within a new century school does not meet the student
 
16 performance standards, the department may deny the continuation
 
17 of the new century school with the concurrence of the governor.
 
18      §   -3 New century school boards; composition.
 
19 Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, including chapter
 
20 302A, schools designated as new century schools shall have a
 
21 school board comprised of the following nine individuals:  three
 
22 parents of students attending the new century school; one member
 
23 of the school's community; the school's parent-community
 

 
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 1 networking center coordinator; two members of the school's
 
 2 licensed faculty; one member of the school's support staff; and
 
 3 the school's principal.
 
 4      §   -4 New century school board members; initial
 
 5 appointment; subsequent election.  The members of an initial new
 
 6 century school board shall be appointed by the governor without
 
 7 regard to section 26-34 and for one-year terms.  The members of
 
 8 an initial new century school board shall initiate a mechanism
 
 9 providing for the election of subsequent new century school board
 
10 members by the school's community, who shall serve two-year
 
11 terms, but excluding those members serving in an ex officio
 
12 capacity.
 
13      §   -5 Powers of new century school boards.(a)  A new
 
14 century school board shall have management and control of the
 
15 general affairs, and exclusive jurisdiction over the internal
 
16 organization and management, of the new century school for which
 
17 the school board has been appointed or elected.  A new century
 
18 school board may authorize any officer, elected or appointed by
 
19 it, to:
 
20      (1)  Approve and sign on its behalf any voucher or otherwise
 
21           acquire appliances, services, and property for the
 
22           purposes of the new century school; and
 
23      (2)  Expend such sums of money as may be placed at the
 

 
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 1           disposal of the new century school, regardless of the
 
 2           source.
 
 3      (b)  All appliances, services, and property purchased or
 
 4 acquired for the purposes of a new century school shall be and
 
 5 shall remain the property of the new century school, and shall be
 
 6 used in perpetuity for the benefit of the new century school.
 
 7      (c)  A new century school board, in accordance with law,
 
 8 shall manage the inventory, equipment, surplus property, and
 
 9 expenditures of the new century school and may adopt rules
 
10 further controlling and regulating the same.
 
11      (d)  A new century school board may hire a principal, who
 
12 shall serve as the chief executive officer of the new century
 
13 school."
 
14      SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 

 
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