Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2012, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow the Department of Education to rehire teachers after one year of retirement, instead of the current two years.

Your Committee finds that Act 308, Session Laws of Hawaii 2001, was intended to help reduce Hawaii's teacher shortage by authorizing the Department of Education to hire teachers who had been retired for two years, without penalty with respect to retirement benefits. Since Act 308 was enacted, however, the Department of Education has rehired only three retired teachers. Some suggest that the longer a teacher has been out of the classroom, the less likely it is that the teacher will return.

Your Committee hopes that by reducing the amount of time a retired teacher must be out of the classroom from two years to one year before the teacher may be rehired, this bill will help the Department of Education attract qualified teachers back to the classroom to improve public education for both students and other teachers.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2012, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.