Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 197, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize the Family Court to provide written notice to the District Superintendent or the Chief Administrator when a minor enrolled in a public or private school has been adjudicated to have committed a felony.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education and a concerned citizen. The Office of the Public Defender opposes this measure. The Family Court provided comments expressing concern with some of the provisions of this measure, and the Department of Human Services deferred to the Family Court's comments.

Your Committee finds that in some cases it makes sense for the Family Court to notify a school that one of its students has been adjudicated of a felony. In some cases such notice may help protect the safety of staff and other students, and also help the school provide for the unique needs of the felonious student.

Your Committee notes that this measure authorizes the Family Court to provide notice to schools, but does not mandate such notice. Your Committee believes that our judges are well qualified to determine when to provide notice.

Based on the testimony of the Department of Education, your Committee amended this measure to authorize the court to provide notice to schools when necessary for purposes of rehabilitating the minor or protecting students and staff, rather than when necessary to serve both of these purposes.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 197, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 197, S.D. 2.