CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO.99
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2001
RE: H.B. No. 1667
H.D. 2
S.D. 1
C.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2001
State of Hawaii
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2001
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 1667, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STUDENT LOANS FOR TEACHERS,"
having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.
The purpose of this bill is to ensure that there is a qualified teacher in every public school classroom by providing financial support to students who complete a state-approved teacher education program and who agree to teach in the Hawaii public school system.
Specifically, this measure:
(1) Creates the Hawaii educator loan program and special fund, to be administered by the University of Hawaii, for the purpose of making low-interest competitive loans to students based on need for financial aid and proof of acceptance into a state-approved teacher education program at the University of Hawaii;
(2) Limits the maximum amount of loans that a student may receive to an aggregate amount equivalent to tuition payments and costs of textbooks and other instructional materials necessary to complete a state-approved teacher education program, and sets the loan rate at 5 percent simple interest;
(3) Requires the repayment of principal and interest charges on a loan to be made in periodic installments within a 10-year period, commencing 1 year after graduation or 3 months after a borrower ceases to be enrolled in the state-approved teacher education program;
(4) Requires one-tenth of the total amount of the loan and interest to be waived for every year that a loan recipient teaches in a Hawaii public school in a hard-to-fill position as determined by the Superintendent of Education, including special education, regular education shortage categories, or Title 1 schools; and
(5) Requires a loan recipient to repay any remaining loan balance at the rate of 10 percent simple interest if the recipient fails to teach in the Hawaii public school system for a minimum of ten consecutive years from the recipient's original date of employment, excluding temporary leaves of absence.
Your Committee on Conference acknowledges the concerns that private universities and colleges voiced regarding their eligibility to receive funding as this program is currently structured, and it is hoped that efforts will be made to investigate the feasibility of expanding the program to be more inclusive.
Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by appropriating $100,000 for fiscal year 2001-2002 to the credit of the Hawaii educator loan program special fund for the University of Hawaii to provide loans to students who agree to teach in the Hawaii public school system.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1667, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1667, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, C.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:
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ON THE PART OF THE SENATE |
ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE |
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____________________________ NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair |
____________________________ ROY TAKUMI, Co-Chair |
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____________________________ KEN ITO, Co-Chair |
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____________________________ SCOTT K. SAIKI, Co-Chair |