Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2233 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds to continue, implement, and develop parent-community networking centers (PCNC) in the public schools.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Department of Education (DOE) and a private citizen.

According to the testimony of the DOE, PCNC focuses on family support which has an integral role in the DOE's Comprehensive Student Support System and the DOE's implementation of the Hawai'i Content and Performance Standards.

Act 262, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 2001, provided the initial funding for the PCNC system of support for students, parents, and teachers. The system was designed to be implemented in four phases. So far, only phases I and II have been implemented, and in some cases not at all.

The concept of the PCNC, as stated in Act 262, SLH 2001, is that satisfying teacher-parent partnerships at the classroom level while fostering a highly supportive sense of community at the school-building level results in higher student achievement, which has been affirmed in each of the past three years as indicated by a three-year longitudinal report of student SAT scores. The crucial factor is family support, which is based on the principles of:

Your Committee agrees with the preamble of Act 262, SLH 2001:  "The legislature also finds that there is overwhelming research evidence of the critical need for an integrated, comprehensive system of family support, parent education, teacher-parent partnerships, and volunteer and resource development at the neighborhood/school and classroom/family levels."

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 S.B. No. 2233 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.