STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2861

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 284
                                        H.D. 1
                                        S.D. 1




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. 284, H.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to statutorily establish the
Hawaii State Student Council (Council) consisting of student
representatives from each school district.

     Specifically, the measure requires that:

     (1)  The Council conduct an annual conference of secondary
          students;

     (2)  The Council determine the method of selecting the
          student member of the Board of Education;

     (3)  The Council appoint a conference committee to plan and
          coordinate the annual student conference; and

     (4)  The Department of Education (DOE) assign a staff member
          to assist the Council as a staff advisor to the
          conference committee.

     Testimony in support of the measure was received from the
Department of Education, Hawaii State Student Council, and three
individuals.  Oral testimony was provided by one individual.

 
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     Your Committee finds that because the Hawaii State Student
Council is not part of the Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), it is
prone to be cut from the DOE's budget at any time.  The
statutorily recognition as provided by this measure would
decrease the possibility of its dissolution or elimination from
the educational budget.

     Your Committee amended the measure by:

     (1)  Deleting the section regarding the annual student
          conference and incorporating its contents into the
          section regarding the Hawaii state student council in
          order to streamline the measure and to provide
          flexibility for the conference; and

     (2)  Removing the "part-time or full-time" language, to
          simply require the DOE to assign a staff member to
          assist the Council.

     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. 284, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B.
No. 284, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways
and Means.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   DAVID Y. IGE, Chair

 
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