REPORT TITLE:
Student-Centered Schools


DESCRIPTION:
Subjects student-centered schools to the same administrative
controls and accountability system applicable to all other
schools.  Requires these schools to utilize satisfactory
indicators to determine whether their students meet or exceed
school-based educational goals and student performance goals.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                            515         
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO STUDENT-CENTERED SCHOOLS.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 302A-1123, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§302A-1123  Student-centered schools; programs and
 
 4 administration.(a)  Any public school, up to a total of twenty-
 
 5 five schools, may establish a student-centered school[, which
 
 6 shall be attached to the board of education for administrative
 
 7 purposes only as specified under section 302A-1123.6]; provided
 
 8 that:
 
 9      (1)  Any public school that establishes a student-centered
 
10           school shall be exempt from all applicable state laws;
 
11           except those regarding:
 
12           (A)  Collective bargaining under chapter 89; provided
 
13                that the exclusive representatives and the
 
14                employers defined in chapter 89 may enter into
 
15                agreements that contain cost and noncost items to
 
16                facilitate decentralized decision-making; and
 
17                provided further that the exclusive bargaining
 
18                unit representatives and the local school board of
 
19                the student-centered school may enter into
 

 
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 1                agreements that contain cost and noncost items;
 
 2                and provided further that the agreements shall be
 
 3                funded from the current allocation or other
 
 4                sources of revenue received by the student-
 
 5                centered school;
 
 6           (B)  State procurement laws; and
 
 7           (C)  Discriminatory practices under section 378-2, and
 
 8                health and safety requirements;
 
 9      (2)  The school establishes a local school board as its
 
10           governing body composed of, at a minimum, one
 
11           representative from each of the following participant
 
12           groups:
 
13           (A)  Principals;
 
14           (B)  Instructional staff members selected by the school
 
15                instructional staff;
 
16           (C)  Support staff selected by the support staff of the
 
17                school;
 
18           (D)  Parents of students attending the school selected
 
19                by the parents [of the school;] from among
 
20                themselves;
 
21           (E)  Student body representatives selected by the
 
22                students of the school; and
 
23           (F)  The community at-large;
 

 
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 1      (3)  The local school board [may] shall formulate school-
 
 2           based educational [policy and] goals in accordance with
 
 3           statewide educational performance standards[, adopt
 
 4           school performance standards and assessment mechanisms,
 
 5           monitor school success,] and shall utilize satisfactory
 
 6           indicators to determine whether its students meet or
 
 7           exceed the goals and the statewide educational
 
 8           performance standards established by the board of
 
 9           education.  The indicators:
 
10           (A)  Shall include the assessments required for
 
11                students in the other public schools, although the
 
12                student-centered school may adopt additional
 
13                school performance standards and assessment
 
14                mechanisms; and
 
15           (B)  Shall include timelines for the achievement of
 
16                student performance goals and the assessment of
 
17                student performance.
 
18           The local school board may select the principal as the
 
19           chief executive officer of the school in accordance
 
20           with paragraph (1)(A).  The principal shall consult and
 
21           work collaboratively with the local school board and
 
22           have jurisdiction over the internal organization,
 
23           operation, and management of the school;
 

 
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 1      (4)  The local school board has developed a detailed
 
 2           implementation plan containing the elements prescribed
 
 3           under subsection (b) for a student-centered school that
 
 4           has been approved by three-fifths of the school's
 
 5           administrative, support, and teaching personnel, and
 
 6           parents; provided that the school personnel may request
 
 7           their bargaining unit representatives to certify and
 
 8           conduct the elections for their respective bargaining
 
 9           units;
 
10      (5)  The detailed implementation plan has been submitted to
 
11           the board of education for review;
 
12      (6)  The detailed implementation plan assures compliance
 
13           with statewide student performance standards;
 
14      (7)  No student-centered school shall charge tuition; and
 
15      (8)  The State shall afford the local school board of any
 
16           student-centered school the same protections as the
 
17           State affords to the state board of education.
 
18      (b)  The detailed implementation plan for the student-
 
19 centered school shall include but not be limited to the
 
20 following:
 
21      (1)  A description of the administrative and educational
 
22           framework;
 
23      (2)  Specific student outcomes to be achieved;
 

 
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 1      (3)  The curriculum, instructional framework, and assessment
 
 2           mechanisms to be used to achieve student outcomes;
 
 3      (4)  Governance structure of the school;
 
 4      (5)  Facilities management plan; and
 
 5      (6)  Annual financial and program audits.
 
 6      (c)  The board of education shall review the proposed
 
 7 student-centered school plan to assure that it complies with
 
 8 [statewide educational performance standards.  Unless the board
 
 9 of education finds that the plan conflicts with statewide
 
10 educational performance standards, the plan shall become
 
11 effective within thirty days after its submission.  If the board
 
12 of education finds a conflict with statewide educational
 
13 performance standards, it shall notify the local school board of
 
14 the finding in writing to enable the local school board to
 
15 appropriately amend the plan to resolve the conflict.] the
 
16 requirements of this section.  The board of education shall have
 
17 the final authority to approve or disapprove the proposed
 
18 student-centered school plan.
 
19      (d)  Student-centered schools shall receive an allocation of
 
20 state general funds based upon the operational and educational
 
21 funding requirements of the schools; provided that:
 
22      (1)  For fiscal year 1998-1999, the allocation shall be
 
23           based on a total per pupil expenditure as determined by
 

 
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 1           the [legislative] auditor; provided that the allocation
 
 2           may be adjusted by the auditor to reflect the changes
 
 3           to the department's budget in the Supplemental
 
 4           Appropriations Act of 1998, Act 116, Session Laws of
 
 5           Hawaii 1998, and any appropriation made for collective
 
 6           bargaining agreements; and provided further that a
 
 7           school may negotiate an adjusted allocation in order to
 
 8           have the department of education provide services to
 
 9           the school; and
 
10      (2)  Beginning in fiscal year 1999-2000, and every year
 
11           thereafter, the [auditor] superintendent shall
 
12           determine the appropriate allocation based on the total
 
13           department of education general fund appropriation and
 
14           per pupil expenditure for the previous year; provided
 
15           that the [legislative auditor] superintendent shall
 
16           take into consideration any changes to the department's
 
17           budget by the legislature and any collective bargaining
 
18           negotiated amounts[;].  The superintendent shall make
 
19           the allocation based upon consultation with appropriate
 
20           constituencies and within thirty days of the date of
 
21           determination of enrollment;
 
22 and provided further that the allocation for self-contained
 
23 special education students and for other special education
 

 
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 1 students shall be adjusted appropriately to reflect the
 
 2 additional expenses incurred for the students in these programs.
 
 3      (e)  All federal and other financial support for student-
 
 4 centered schools shall be equal to all other public schools;
 
 5 provided that if administrative services are provided to the
 
 6 school by the department, the school shall reimburse the
 
 7 department for the actual costs of the administrative services in
 
 8 an amount that does not exceed 6.5 per cent of the school's
 
 9 allocation.  Any student-centered school shall be eligible to
 
10 receive any financial grant or award for which any other public
 
11 school may submit a proposal.  All additional funds that are
 
12 generated by the local school board shall be considered
 
13 supplementary and may be expended at the discretion of the local
 
14 school board.
 
15      (f)  Every student-centered school shall conduct self-
 
16 evaluations annually.  The self-evaluation process shall include
 
17 but not be limited to the following:
 
18      (1)  The identification and adoption of benchmarks to
 
19           measure and evaluate administrative and instructional
 
20           programs as provided in this section;
 
21      (2)  The identification of any administrative and legal
 
22           barriers to meeting the benchmarks, as adopted, and
 
23           recommendations for improvements and modifications to
 

 
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 1           address the barriers; and
 
 2      (3)  The impact upon the students of the student-centered
 
 3           school.
 
 4 Every student-centered school shall submit a report of its self-
 
 5 evaluation to the board of education within sixty days after the
 
 6 completion of the school year; provided that the department shall
 
 7 have thirty days to respond to any recommendation regarding
 
 8 improvements and modifications that would directly impact the
 
 9 department.
 
10      The board of education shall evaluate each student-centered
 
11 school four years after its establishment and every four years
 
12 thereafter to assure compliance with [statewide student
 
13 performance standards, consistent with subsection (a)(3);] the
 
14 requirements of this section; provided that each student-centered
 
15 school established prior to July 1, 1998, shall be evaluated four
 
16 years after July 1, 1998[.] and every four years thereafter.
 
17 Upon a determination by the board of education that student
 
18 achievement within a student-centered school does not meet the
 
19 student performance standards, a student-centered school shall be
 
20 placed on probationary status and shall have [two years] one year
 
21 to bring student performance into compliance with [statewide
 
22 standards.] the requirements of this section.  If a student-
 
23 centered school fails to meet its probationary requirements[,] or
 

 
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 1 fails to comply with any of the requirements of this section, the
 
 2 board of education, upon a two-thirds majority vote, may then
 
 3 deny the continuation of the student-centered school."
 
 4      SECTION 2.  Section 302A-1123.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 5 amended to read as follows:
 
 6      "[[]§302A-1123.6[]]  Student-centered schools;
 
 7 administrative supervision.  Whenever any student-centered school
 
 8 is established under section 302A-1123, the following provisions
 
 9 shall apply except as otherwise specifically provided by this
 
10 chapter:
 
11      (1)  Following consultation with the student-centered
 
12           school, the board of education shall represent the
 
13           student-centered school in communications with the
 
14           governor and with the legislature;
 
15      (2)  The financial requirements for state funds of the
 
16           student-centered school shall be submitted through the
 
17           board of education and included in the budget for the
 
18           department;
 
19      (3)  The approval of all policies and rules adopted by the
 
20           student-centered school shall be preceded by an open
 
21           public meeting and shall [not] be subject to chapter
 
22           91;
 
23      (4)  The employment, appointment, promotion, transfer,
 

 
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 1           demotion, discharge, and job descriptions of all
 
 2           officers and employees of or under the jurisdiction of
 
 3           the student-centered school shall be determined by the
 
 4           student-centered school and applicable personnel laws
 
 5           and collective bargaining agreements;
 
 6     [(5)  Except as set forth in this section, the board of
 
 7           education or the superintendent of education shall not
 
 8           have the power to supervise or control the student-
 
 9           centered school in the exercise of its functions,
 
10           duties, and powers.]
 
11      (5)  The board of education may subject the student-centered
 
12           school to the same accountability system applicable to
 
13           all other schools; and
 
14      (6)  Local school boards shall enter into an annual business
 
15           contract for centralized services to be provided by the
 
16           department prior to the beginning of each school year."
 
17      SECTION 3.  Section 302A-1302, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
18 amended to read as follows:
 
19      "§302A-1302  School-based budget flexibility.  Beginning
 
20 with the 1995-1997 fiscal biennium, the department shall
 
21 implement school-based budget flexibility for schools, complexes,
 
22 and learning support centers.  The flexibility shall be limited
 
23 to the school-based budgeting program EDN 100 of the department
 

 
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 1 [for all schools except student-centered schools defined in
 
 2 section 302A-101; provided that beginning in fiscal year 1998-
 
 3 1999, and every year thereafter, the department shall distribute
 
 4 the full appropriation due to a student-centered school pursuant
 
 5 to section 302A-1123(d) directly to the student-centered
 
 6 school]."
 
 7      SECTION 4.  Section 302A-1123.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 8 repealed.
 
 9      ["[§302A-1123.5]  Student-centered schools; mandate to
 
10 support.  The department, through the board and its
 
11 superintendent, shall provide information and technical
 
12 assistance upon request necessary to support the establishment
 
13 and expansion of student-centered schools."]
 
14      SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
15 New statutory material is underscored.
 
16      SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
17 
 
18                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________