STAND. COM. REP. NO.2386
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2002
RE: S.B. No. 2662
S.D. 1
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. 2662 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NEW CENTURY CONVERSION CHARTER SCHOOLS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to allow a nonprofit organization to manage and operate a new century conversion charter school as a division of the nonprofit organization, in which the charter school's local school board would consist of the board of directors of the nonprofit organization.
Your Committee received testimony in support of the measure from the Board of Education, Department of Education, Hawaii Association of Independent Schools, Kamehameha Schools, Imua Group, Hawaii Business Roundtable, Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Halau Ku Mana New Century Charter School, and College of Hawaiian Language at University of Hawaii at Hilo as well as oral testimony in support from Lanikai Elementary and a private individual. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to the measure from the Hawaii State Teachers Association, Hawaii Government Employees Association, and Hawaii Association of Charter Schools, as well as oral testimony in opposition from Halau Lokahi New Century Charter Schools.
Your Committee finds that charter schools continue to be a viable educational reform mechanism. One way to ramp up the initiative while still maintaining the highest standards of educational and administrative excellence would be to allow existing nonprofit organizations to manage and operate charter schools that convert from regular public school to charter school status. This would allow conversion charter schools to benefit from the expertise and contacts of preexisting nonprofit organizations.
Your Committee has amended the measure by:
(1) Clarifying that the $1 a nonprofit organization must match for every $4 of state resources in per pupil allocations is the minimum match level;
(2) Allowing the same eligibility for federal and state funding for such conversion charter high schools as that enjoyed by other Department of Education schools;
(3) Increasing the flexibility of nonprofit organizations to hire appropriate services;
(4) Retaining the cap of 25 charter schools;
(5) Establishing a cap on the amount of conversion charter schools at 25; and
(6) Making technical nonsubstantive amendments to reflect preferred drafting style.
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. 2662, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2662, 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,
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____________________________ NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair |
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