STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2980

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 149
                                        H.D. 2




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education and Technology, to which was
referred H.B. No. 149, H.D. 2, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE X,
     SECTION 2, OF THE HAWAII CONSTITUTION, TO CHANGE THE BOARD
     OF EDUCATION FROM AN ELECTED BOARD TO AN APPOINTED BOARD,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to propose an amendment to
the State Constitution that would allow the Governor, with the
advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint Board of Education
(BOE) members, rather than having them publicly elected.

     Testimony in support of the measure was received from the
Hawaii Business Roundtable and UPW.  Testimony in opposition was
received from the BOE, Hawaii Congress of Parents, Teachers, and
Students, and two private individuals.

     Your Committee finds that accountability in Hawaii's public
education system is ambiguous.  Although the BOE is responsible
for setting public education policies, the Governor and the
Legislature, through their respective powers, are able to
establish policies that may contradict the BOE's policies.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Education and Technology that is attached to this
report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose
of H.B. No. 149, H.D. 2, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2980
                                   Page 2



                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Education and
                                   Technology,



                                   ______________________________
                                   DAVID Y. IGE, Chair

 
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