STAND. COM. REP. NO.898-02
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2002
S.D. 2
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2002
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Higher Education and Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2816, S.D. 2, entitled:
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to resolve the shortage of teachers in the State's public school system by:
(1) Creating the Hawaii Educator Incentive Program (HEIP) and Special Fund (Special Fund) to be administered by a designated federal credit union that has been contracted to provide financial assistance to teachers who graduate from state-approved teacher education program and agree to serve in the Department of Education (DOE); and
(2) Establishing eligibility requirements, maximum reimbursement amounts, repayment schedules, and tuition reimbursement guidelines to implement HEIP.
Testimony in support of this bill was received from the Lieutenant Governor, DOE, University of Hawaii (UH), Hawaii Association of Independent Schools, Hawaii Business Round Table, Hawaii State Teacher Association, University of Phoenix-Hawaii Campus, and the Hawaii State Student Council. The Hawaii Teacher Standards Board and an individual supported the intent of this bill.
Your Committees recognize that there is an increasing need for teachers in the State of Hawaii. The teacher shortage in Hawaii is an ongoing problem that needs to be addressed quickly.
Your Committees find that teachers graduating through the college and university systems in Hawaii are more likely to stay within the Hawaii State teaching system than those that are recruited from the mainland.
Creating an incentive program through which all graduates in education in Hawaii can participate will help alleviate the burden that exists for upcoming generations of Hawaii public school students.
This bill creates an incentive for students to become teachers and to ensure that these graduates teach in Hawaii public schools. Hopefully this incentive will increase the amount of persons entering the teaching profession.
Upon further consideration, your Committees have amended this
bill by:
(1) Inserting additional findings;
(2) Specifying that the Special Fund shall be administered by DOE, rather than UH;
(3) Clarifying that HEIP provides tuition reimbursements and not loans;
(4) Removing the appropriation; and
(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of style and clarity.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Higher Education and Education that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2816, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2816, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Higher Education and Education,
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KEN ITO, Chair |
ROY TAKUMI, Chair |
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