REPORT TITLE:
Education


DESCRIPTION:
Authorizes DOE to charge fines to students for overdue books.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.76         
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO EDUCATION.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  The department of education has been faced in
 
 2 recent years with the problem of a lack of a sufficient number of
 
 3 textbooks because many students who have used them have not
 
 4 returned them.  Typically, these students are not assessed fines
 
 5 or required to make other forms of restitution for textbooks that
 
 6 are not returned.  Since funding for public education in general
 
 7 has been limited, not enough replacement textbooks have been
 
 8 purchased.  As a result, students in certain classes have an
 
 9 insufficient number of textbooks.  Furthermore, the department of
 
10 education also faces the problem of unreturned library materials.
 
11      This Act creates a mechanism for levying fines on students
 
12 for textbooks and other educational materials that have not been
 
13 returned by the due date.  In doing so, this Act also promotes
 
14 student responsibility.
 
15      This Act retains the ability of the school principal to
 
16 negotiate an alternate form of compensation with the family of a
 
17 student when the family does not have the necessary financial
 
18 resources to pay fines for unreturned books and other materials.
 

 
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 1      SECTION 2.  Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated
 
 3 and to read as follows:
 
 4      "§302A-     Educational materials special fund.  (a) There
 
 5 is established in the state treasury an educational materials
 
 6 special fund into which shall be deposited all moneys collected
 
 7 pursuant to section 302A-1130.
 
 8      (b)  The fund shall be administered by the superintendent of
 
 9 education, who shall, unless otherwise directed by the board of
 
10 education, disburse to each school the amount commensurate with
 
11 the moneys received from the school under section 302A-1130 over
 
12 the previous fiscal period.  Allocations shall be made in
 
13 quarterly installments within thirty days of the end of each
 
14 calendar quarter.
 
15      (c)  Moneys allocated from the educational materials special
 
16 fund to the schools shall be used to purchase books or other
 
17 educational materials."
 
18      SECTION 3.  Section 302A-1130, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
19 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
20      "(a)  No equipment, material, or other fees shall be
 
21 assessed against any pupil in any school, except that the
 
22 department may assess and collect special fees and charges from
 
23 [pupils for] any pupil who:
 

 
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 1      (1)  Engages in co-curricular activities [and from pupils
 
 2           who negligently break, damage, lose, or destroy];
 
 3      (2)  Negligently breaks, damages, loses, or destroys school
 
 4           books, equipment, or supplies; or
 
 5      (3)  Fails to return by the due date any book or other
 
 6           educational material distributed by the department of
 
 7           education or borrowed by the pupil as library material.
 
 8 Any pupil who fails to return by the due date any book or other
 
 9 educational material belonging to the department of education
 
10 shall be subject to a nominal charge established by the board of
 
11 education.  Any pupil found to be responsible for the loss,
 
12 destruction, breakage, or damage of school books, which shall
 
13 include library and textbooks, of equipment, or of supplies,
 
14 shall make restitution to the school in any manner, including the
 
15 payment by the pupil or the pupil's parents of the actual
 
16 replacement costs."
 
17      SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
18 New statutory material is underscored.
 
19      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.
 
20 
 
21                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________