REPORT TITLE:
Native Hawaiian education


DESCRIPTION:
Allows for a student-centered school to be established by
creating a new school, comprised of programs or sections of
existing public schools, for the purposes of native Hawaiian
education.  Exempts student-centered schools from collective
bargaining and state procurement laws.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           1233
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO NATIVE HAWAIIAN EDUCATION.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the Hawaiian
 
 2 knowledge structure differs from the western system of education.
 
 3 Statistics show that the lower educational achievement of native
 
 4 Hawaiians from kindergarten to the university level is a
 
 5 reflection of their cultural and educational incompatibility with
 
 6 the current education system.  Data also shows that when Hawaiian
 
 7 language, culture, and values are incorporated into the
 
 8 pedagogical process at all levels, education suddenly has
 
 9 relevance and meaning for Hawaiian children.  As a result they
 
10 are able to learn, to grow, and to excel, both in the academic
 
11 setting, and in life thereafter.
 
12      The legislature also finds that as an indigenous people, the
 
13 native people of Hawaii have a right to all levels and forms of
 
14 education, including access to education in their own language,
 
15 and the right to establish and control their educational systems
 
16 and institutions according to their own customs and traditions.
 
17      The legislature further finds that while in 1994 it
 
18 authorized the establishment of up to twenty-five student-
 
19 centered schools, which provided alternative frameworks with
 

 
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 1 regard to curriculum, facilities management, instructional
 
 2 approach, length of the school day, week or year; and personnel
 
 3 management, to meet the needs of our diverse student population,
 
 4 only two student-centered schools have been established.  This
 
 5 indicates that the present process of systemic reform via the
 
 6 SCBM process is not proceeding as envisioned several years ago
 
 7 and that an expansion of the Act is necessary in order to allow
 
 8 for the establishment of innovative programs that can address the
 
 9 unique needs of specific groups, like Hawaii's native student
 
10 population, which presently makes up nearly twenty-five per cent
 
11 of the State's public school students.
 
12      Successful, innovative educational programs like Kanu o ka
 
13 Aina Hawaiian Academy, a 9-12 school-within-a-school at Honokaa
 
14 High and Intermediate School, need the freedom to implement and
 
15 test their educational paradigms tailored specifically to the
 
16 needs and aspirations of Hawaii's native students.  The creation
 
17 of a student-centered K-12 Hawaiian Academy and Community
 
18 Education Center, comprised of Kanu o ka Aina Hawaiian Academy
 
19 and the K-5 native Hawaiian Immersion program at Waimea school,
 
20 will set in motion the effort of establishing a culturally-
 
21 driven, family-oriented community-based model of Hawaiian
 
22 education.  
 
23      Accordingly, the purpose of this Act provides for an
 

 
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 1 amendment of the student-centered school provisions to allow for
 
 2 the establishment of student-centered schools through the
 
 3 creation of a new school comprised of programs or sections of
 
 4 existing public school populations, for the purposes of native
 
 5 Hawaiian education.
 
 6      SECTION 2.  Section 302A-1123, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 7 amended to read as follows:
 
 8      "§302A-1123  Student-centered schools; programs and
 
 9 administration.(a)  [Any public school, up] Up to a total of
 
10 twenty-five schools[,] may [establish a] be established as
 
11 student-centered [school, which] schools.  These student-centered
 
12 schools may be established from:
 
13      (1)  An existing public school; or
 
14      (2)  The creation of a new school, comprised of programs or
 
15           sections of existing public school populations and
 
16           using existing public school facilities, for the
 
17           purposes of native Hawaiian education.
 
18      (b)  Student-centered schools shall be attached to the board
 
19 of education for administrative purposes only as specified under
 
20 section 302A-1123.6; provided that:
 
21      (1)  Any [public school that establishes a] student-centered
 
22           school shall be exempt from all applicable state laws;
 
23           except those regarding:
 

 
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 1          [(A)  Collective bargaining under chapter 89; provided
 
 2                that the exclusive representatives and the
 
 3                employers defined in chapter 89 may enter into
 
 4                agreements that contain cost and noncost items to
 
 5                facilitate decentralized decision-making; and
 
 6                provided further that the exclusive bargaining
 
 7                unit representatives and the local school board of
 
 8                the student-centered school may enter into
 
 9                agreements that contain cost and noncost items;
 
10                and provided further that the agreements shall be
 
11                funded from the current allocation or other
 
12                sources of revenue received by the student-
 
13                centered school;
 
14           (B)  State procurement laws; and
 
15           (C)] (A)  Discriminatory practices under section 378-2,
 
16                unless the student-centered school is one created
 
17                for the benefit of native Hawaiian students, in
 
18                which case the racial discrimination provisions
 
19                under section 378-2 shall not apply; and [health] 
 
20           (B)  Health and safety requirements;
 
21      (2)  The school establishes a local school board as its
 
22           governing body composed of, at a minimum, one
 
23           representative from each of the following participant
 

 
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 1           groups:
 
 2           (A)  Principals;
 
 3           (B)  Instructional staff members selected by the school
 
 4                instructional staff;
 
 5           (C)  Support staff selected by the support staff of the
 
 6                school;
 
 7           (D)  Parents of students attending the school selected
 
 8                by the parents of the school;
 
 9           (E)  Student body representatives selected by the
 
10                students of the school; and
 
11           (F)  The community at-large;
 
12      (3)  The local school board may formulate school-based
 
13           educational policy and goals in accordance with
 
14           statewide educational performance standards, adopt
 
15           school performance standards and assessment mechanisms,
 
16           monitor school success, and may select the principal as
 
17           the chief executive officer of the school [in
 
18           accordance with paragraph (1)(A)].  The principal shall
 
19           consult and work collaboratively with the local school
 
20           board and have jurisdiction over the internal
 
21           organization, operation, and management of the school;
 
22      (4)  The local school board has developed a detailed
 
23           implementation plan containing the elements prescribed
 

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

 
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 1      (4)  Governance structure of the school;
 
 2      (5)  Facilities management plan; and
 
 3      (6)  Annual financial and program audits.
 
 4      [(c)] (d)  The board of education shall review the proposed
 
 5 student-centered school plan to assure that it complies with
 
 6 statewide educational performance standards.  Unless the board of
 
 7 education finds that the plan conflicts with statewide
 
 8 educational performance standards, the plan shall become
 
 9 effective within thirty days after its submission.  If the board
 
10 of education finds a conflict with statewide educational
 
11 performance standards, it shall notify the local school board of
 
12 the finding in writing to enable the local school board to
 
13 appropriately amend the plan to resolve the conflict.
 
14      [(d)] (e)  Student-centered schools shall receive an
 
15 allocation of state general funds based upon the operational and
 
16 educational funding requirements of the schools; provided that:
 
17      (1)  For fiscal year 1998-1999, the allocation shall be
 
18           based on a total per pupil expenditure as determined by
 
19           the legislative auditor; provided that the allocation
 
20           may be adjusted by the auditor to reflect changes to
 
21           the department's budget in the Supplemental
 
22           Appropriations Act of 1998, Act 116, Session Laws of
 
23           Hawaii 1998, and any appropriation made for collective
 

 
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 1           bargaining agreements; and provided further that a
 
 2           school may negotiate an adjusted allocation in order to
 
 3           have the department of education provide services to
 
 4           the school; and
 
 5      (2)  Beginning in fiscal year 1999-2000, and every year
 
 6           thereafter, the auditor shall determine the appropriate
 
 7           allocation based on the total department of education
 
 8           general fund appropriation and per pupil expenditure
 
 9           for the previous year; provided that the legislative
 
10           auditor shall take into consideration any changes to
 
11           the department's budget by the legislature and any
 
12           applicable collective bargaining negotiated amounts;
 
13 and provided further that the allocation for self-contained
 
14 special education students and for other special education
 
15 students shall be adjusted appropriately to reflect the
 
16 additional expenses incurred for the students in these programs.
 
17      [(e)] (f)  All federal and other financial support for
 
18 student-centered schools shall be equal to all other public
 
19 schools; provided that if administrative services are provided to
 
20 the school by the department, the school shall reimburse the
 
21 department for the actual costs of the administrative services in
 
22 an amount that does not exceed 6.5 per cent of the school's
 
23 allocation.  Any student-centered school shall be eligible to
 

 
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 1 receive any financial grant or award for which any other public
 
 2 school may submit a proposal.  All additional funds that are
 
 3 generated by the local school board shall be considered
 
 4 supplementary and may be expended at the discretion of the local
 
 5 school board.
 
 6      [(f)] (g)  Every student-centered school shall conduct self-
 
 7 evaluations annually.  The self-evaluation process shall include
 
 8 but not be limited to the following:
 
 9      (1)  The identification and adoption of benchmarks to
 
10           measure and evaluate administrative and instructional
 
11           programs as provided in this section;
 
12      (2)  The identification of any administrative and legal
 
13           barriers to meeting the benchmarks, as adopted, and
 
14           recommendations for improvements and modifications to
 
15           address the barriers; and
 
16      (3)  The impact upon the students of the student-centered
 
17           school.
 
18 Every student-centered school shall submit a report of its self-
 
19 evaluation to the board of education within sixty days after the
 
20 completion of the school year; provided that the department shall
 
21 have thirty days to respond to any recommendation regarding
 
22 improvements and modifications that would directly impact the
 
23 department.
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1233
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      The board of education shall evaluate each student-centered
 
 2 school four years after its establishment to assure compliance
 
 3 with statewide student performance standards, consistent with
 
 4 subsection [(a)(3);] (b)(3); provided that each student-centered
 
 5 school established prior to July 1, 1998 shall be evaluated four
 
 6 years after July 1, 1998.  Upon a determination by the board of
 
 7 education that student achievement within a student-centered
 
 8 school does not meet the student performance standards, a
 
 9 student-centered school shall be placed on probationary status
 
10 and shall have two years to bring student performance into
 
11 compliance with statewide standards.  If a student-centered
 
12 school fails to meet its probationary requirements, the board of
 
13 education, upon a two-thirds majority vote, may then deny the
 
14 continuation of the student-centered school." 
 
15      SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
16 New statutory material is underscored.
 
17      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
18 
 
19                              INTRODUCED BY:______________________