REPORT TITLE:
Education/Higher Education


DESCRIPTION:
Statutory amendments needed to make the president of the
University of Hawaii an ex officio nonvoting member of the board
of education, and the superintendent of education an ex officio
nonvoting member of the board of regents.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.434        
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO EDUCATION.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that Hawaii's unified
 
 2 public school system and unified system of higher education
 
 3 present an opportunity not found in other states to coordinate
 
 4 primary and secondary education with post-secondary education.
 
 5 By developing an integrated vision of education from kindergarten
 
 6 through the fourth year of college and beyond, the State can
 
 7 better serve the educational needs of our community.
 
 8      The policy-making body of the department of education is the
 
 9 board of education, which selects a superintendent to implement
 
10 its policies.  Similarly, the policy-making body of the
 
11 University of Hawaii is the board of regents, which selects a
 
12 president to implement its policies.  Making the superintendent a
 
13 member of the board of regents and the University president a
 
14 member of the board of education would result in increased
 
15 coordination between the department of education and the
 
16 University of Hawaii.
 
17      The purpose of this Act is to propose statutory amendments
 
18 to provide for the appointment of the president of the University
 
19 of Hawaii, or a designee, as an ex officio nonvoting member of
 

 
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 1 the board of education, and the appointment of the superintendent
 
 2 of education, or a designee, as an ex officio nonvoting member of
 
 3 the board of regents.  The enactment of this Act depends upon the
 
 4 approval of constitutional amendments contained in another bill.
 
 5      SECTION 2.  Section 13-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 6 amended to read as follows:
 
 7      "§13-1 Board members; number.(a)  The board of education
 
 8 shall consist of [thirteen]:
 
 9      (1)  Thirteen voting members; and
 
10      (2)  The president of the University of Hawaii, or a
 
11           designee, who shall serve as an ex-officio nonvoting
 
12           member.
 
13 The thirteen voting members [who] shall be elected by the
 
14 registered voters of two at-large school board districts as
 
15 follows:
 
16      First school board district:  the island of Oahu, comprised
 
17 of the 11th through the 48th and a portion of the 49th (that
 
18 portion found on the island of Oahu) representative districts,
 
19 and the
 
20      Second school board district:  the islands of Hawaii, Maui,
 
21 Lanai, Molokai, Kahoolawe, Kauai, and Niihau, comprised of the
 
22 1st through the 10th, a portion of the 49th (that portion found
 
23 on the island of Kauai), and the 50th and 51st representative
 
24 districts.
 

 
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 1      (b)  Ten elected members shall be elected at-large from the
 
 2 first school board district.  Of the ten members elected at-large
 
 3 from that district, one shall be a resident of the third
 
 4 departmental school district (Honolulu), one shall be a resident
 
 5 of the fourth departmental school district (Central Oahu), one
 
 6 shall be a resident of the fifth departmental school district
 
 7 (Leeward Oahu), and one shall be a resident of the sixth
 
 8 departmental school district (Windward Oahu).
 
 9      (c)  Three elected members shall be elected at-large from
 
10 the second school board district.  Of the three members elected
 
11 at-large from that district, one shall be a resident of the first
 
12 departmental school district (Hawaii), one shall be a resident of
 
13 the second departmental school district (Maui), and one shall be
 
14 a resident of the seventh departmental school district (Kauai).
 
15      (d)  The departmental school districts shall be as follows:
 
16      First departmental school district (Hawaii):  the island of
 
17 Hawaii comprised of the 1st through the 5th and a portion of the
 
18 6th (that portion found on the island of Hawaii) representative
 
19 districts;
 
20      Second departmental school district (Maui):  the islands of
 
21 Maui, Molokai (including the county of Kalawao), Lanai, and
 
22 Kahoolawe comprised of a portion of the 6th (that portion found
 
23 on the island of Maui) and the 7th through the 10th
 
24 representative districts;
 

 
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 1      Third departmental school district (Honolulu):  that portion
 
 2 of the island of Oahu comprised of the 21st through the 41st
 
 3 representative districts;
 
 4      Fourth departmental school district (Central Oahu):  that
 
 5 portion of the island of Oahu comprised of the 11th through the
 
 6 14th and the 45th representative districts;
 
 7      Fifth departmental school district (Leeward Oahu):  that
 
 8 portion of the island of Oahu comprised of the 42nd through the
 
 9 44th, the 46th through the 48th and a portion of the 49th (that
 
10 portion found on the island of Oahu) representative districts;
 
11      Sixth departmental school district (Windward Oahu):  that
 
12 portion of the island of Oahu comprised of the 15th through the
 
13 20th representative districts; and
 
14      Seventh departmental school district (Kauai):  the islands
 
15 of Kauai and Niihau comprised of a portion of the 49th (that
 
16 portion found on the island of Kauai) and the 50th and 51st
 
17 representative districts."
 
18      SECTION 3.  Section 13-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
19 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
20      "(a)  [Members] Elected members of the board of education
 
21 shall be nominated at a primary election and elected at the
 
22 general election.  Except as otherwise provided by this chapter,
 
23 the candidates for the board of education shall be elected in the
 
24 manner prescribed by this title.
 

 
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 1      (1)  Nomination papers, preparation of.  The chief election
 
 2           officer shall prepare nomination papers in such a
 
 3           manner that a candidate desiring to file for election
 
 4           to the board of education shall be able to specify
 
 5           whether the candidate is seeking a seat requiring
 
 6           residency in a particular departmental school district
 
 7           or a seat without such residency requirement[.];
 
 8      (2)  Ballot.  The school board ballot shall be prepared in
 
 9           such a manner as to afford every voter eligible to vote
 
10           in a school board district race the opportunity to vote
 
11           for each and every candidate seeking election from that
 
12           school board district.
 
13                The school board ballot shall contain the names of
 
14           all board candidates arranged alphabetically in a
 
15           nonpartisan manner; provided that the names of
 
16           candidates seeking seats requiring residency in a
 
17           particular departmental school district shall be
 
18           grouped alphabetically according to departmental school
 
19           districts[.];
 
20      (3)  Primary election.  Two candidates receiving the most
 
21           votes for each available seat shall be nominated for
 
22           the general election.  If, after the close of filing of
 
23           nomination papers, there are only two qualified
 

 
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 1           candidates for any seat requiring residency in a
 
 2           particular departmental school district, the chief
 
 3           election officer shall declare those two candidates
 
 4           duly nominated for the general election.  The names of
 
 5           those two candidates shall not appear on the primary
 
 6           election ballot[.]; and
 
 7      (4)  General election.  Each voter in the general election
 
 8           shall be entitled to receive the school board ballot
 
 9           and to vote for the number of seats available in the
 
10           respective school board districts."
 
11      SECTION 4.  Section 13-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
12 amended to read as follows:
 
13      "§13-4 Board members; term, vacancies.(a)  The term of
 
14 office of elected members of the board shall be for four years
 
15 beginning on the day of the special election held in conjunction
 
16 with the general election of the year in which they are elected
 
17 and ending on the day of the special election held in conjunction
 
18 with the second general election after their election, except as
 
19 provided in subsection (c).  Members of the board may be re-
 
20 elected without restriction as to the number of terms.
 
21      (b)  Any vacancy for an elected seat that may occur through
 
22 any cause other than the expiration of the term of office shall
 
23 be filled in accordance with section 17-6.
 

 
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 1      [(c)  Members of the board elected at the special election
 
 2 held in conjunction with the general election in 1984 shall be
 
 3 divided into two classes.  There shall be seven members in the
 
 4 first class who shall hold office for a term of four years
 
 5 beginning with their election and ending on the day of the
 
 6 special election held in conjunction with the second general
 
 7 election after their election.  The remaining members shall
 
 8 comprise the second class and shall hold office for a term of two
 
 9 years beginning with their election and ending on the day of the
 
10 special election held in conjunction with the next general
 
11 election after their election, and then members of the second
 
12 class shall be elected to four year terms.
 
13      Membership in the first class shall consist of:  three
 
14 members who are elected with the highest number of votes from the
 
15 first school board district as designated under section 13-1, who
 
16 are not required to reside in any particular departmental school
 
17 district and one member elected from each odd-numbered
 
18 departmental school district.  Membership of the second class
 
19 shall consist of the remaining elected school board members.]"
 
20      SECTION 5.  Section 13-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
21 amended to read as follows:
 
22      "§13.5  Board members; term, vacancies.  The term of office
 
23 of elected members of the board shall be four years beginning on
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.434        
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 the day of the general election of the year in which they are
 
 2 elected and ending on the day of the second general election
 
 3 after their election.  [Members] Elected members of the board may
 
 4 be re-elected without restriction as to the number of terms.
 
 5      Any vacancy of an elected seat that may occur through any
 
 6 cause other than the expiration of the term of office shall be
 
 7 filled by the governor in accordance with section 17-6.  The
 
 8 appointee shall be a nonpartisan if the person the appointee
 
 9 succeeds was a nonpartisan."
 
10      SECTION 6.  Section 26-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
11 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
12      "(a)  The University of Hawaii shall be headed by an
 
13 executive board to be known as the board of regents.
 
14      The board shall consist of [twelve]:
 
15      (1)  Twelve voting members.  No more than six of the voting
 
16           members shall be members of the same political party
 
17           and at least part of the membership of the board shall
 
18           represent geographic subdivisions of the State.  At
 
19           least one voting member shall be a University of Hawaii
 
20           student at the time of the initial appointment.  This
 
21           member may be reappointed for one additional term even
 
22           though the member may no longer be a student at the
 
23           time of reappointment[.]; and
 

 
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 1      (2)  The superintendent of education, or a designee, who
 
 2           shall serve as an ex officio nonvoting member.
 
 3      The board shall have power, in accordance with the
 
 4 Constitution of the State and with law, to formulate policy, and
 
 5 to exercise control over the university through its executive
 
 6 officer, the president of the university.  The board shall have
 
 7 exclusive jurisdiction over the internal organization and
 
 8 management of the university."
 
 9      SECTION 7.  Section 304-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
10 amended to read as follows:
 
11      "§304-3 Regents; appointment; tenure; qualifications;
 
12 meetings.  The affairs of the university shall be under the
 
13 general management and control of the board of regents consisting
 
14 of [twelve]:
 
15      (1)  Twelve voting members who shall be appointed and may be
 
16           removed by the governor.  The term of each voting
 
17           member shall be for four years; provided that the term
 
18           of the student member shall be for two years.  Except
 
19           as otherwise provided by statute, state officers shall
 
20           be eligible to appointment and membership.  Every
 
21           voting member may serve beyond the expiration date of
 
22           the member's term of appointment until the member's
 
23           successor has been appointed and has qualified[.]; and
 

 
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 1      (2)  The superintendent of education, or a designee, who
 
 2           shall serve as an ex officio non-voting member.
 
 3 The board shall at its first meeting after June 30, elect a
 
 4 chairperson and vice-chairperson, who shall serve until
 
 5 adjournment of its first meeting after June 30 of the next year
 
 6 or thereafter until their successors are appointed and have
 
 7 qualified and whose election shall be immediately certified by
 
 8 the board to the chief election officer. The board shall appoint
 
 9 a secretary, who shall not be a member of the board.  The
 
10 president of the university shall act as executive officer of the
 
11 board.  The board shall meet not less often than ten times
 
12 annually, and may from time to time meet in each of the counties
 
13 of Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai.
 
14      The members of the board shall serve without pay but shall
 
15 be entitled to their traveling expenses within the State when
 
16 attending meetings of the board or when actually engaged in
 
17 business relating to the work of the board."
 
18      SECTION 8.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
19 New statutory material is underscored.
 
20      SECTION 9.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval and
 
21 upon the ratification of a constitutional amendment making the
 
22 superintendent of education or a designee an ex officio nonvoting
 
23 member of the board of regents, and the president of the
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.434        
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 University of Hawaii or a designee an ex officio nonvoting member
 
 2 of the board of education.
 
 3 
 
 4                           INTRODUCED BY:_________________________