STAND. COM. REP. NO. 186-00

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 2000

                                 RE: H.B. No. 2039
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No.
2039 entitled:

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds to increase
the availability of computers, software, and universal internet
access to public high school students.

     Your Committee received testimony in favor of this measure
from the Superintendent of Education, the Hawaii State Teachers
Association, and four students, including the Hawaii District
Representative to the Hawaii State Student Council, the Student
Body President of Kau High School, and the State Student
Conference Planner for the Leeward District.  Testimony in
opposition to the measure was received from a former teacher at
Campbell High School.

     Your Committee agrees with the intent of the bill, and
concurs with the Superintendent's concerns that limited access to
computers and related technologies is the primary problem that
Hawaii's students must deal with in their efforts to achieve the
Hawaii content and performance standards relating to information
and information technologies.  Your Committee finds that this
bill will assist Hawaii's high school students in succeeding in

 
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today's highly competitive and quickly evolving techological
society.

     To facilitate further discussion on the funding necessary to
carry out the purposes of this measure, your Committee has
amended this bill by replacing the blank amount appropriated with
the amount of $1.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
2039, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2039, H.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   KEN ITO, Chair

 
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