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. 2816 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to create an incentive for students to become teachers and to ensure that these graduates teach in our public schools.

Your Committee received testimony in support of the measure from Lieutenant Governor, Department of Education, University of Hawaii, Hawaii Association of Independent Schools, Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, Hawaii State Teachers Association, and Hawaii Business Roundtable.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii, along with the rest of the nation, is suffering from a critical teacher shortage. Approximately 1,000-1,200 new teachers are needed in Hawaii every year. Last year, the University of Hawaii produced 450 graduates. Not all of these graduates choose to teach in the Department of Education (DOE). The DOE, therefore, recruits teachers from other local state-approved teacher education colleges such as Brigham Young, Chaminade, and Hawaii Pacific Universities. These private institutions assist the State by offsetting the shortage of teachers.

A constitutional question arises as to the use of state general funds supporting and benefiting private educational institutions, pursuant to Spears v. Honda and Hawaii State Constitution Article X, Section 1. The state constitution attempts to ensure that the public schools receive the best treatment by the State, over and above private schools. This measure does not give preferential treatment to private school students. The Hawaii Educator Incentive Program creates an incentive for any student attending any local state-approved teacher education institution to commit to the DOE as a teacher for six years.

More importantly, no loan is given to the student enrolled in Hawaii Educator Incentive Program. Instead, after completion of the program and proof of employment in the DOE, tuition is paid to the graduate, at least equal to tuition in the University of Hawaii. The program would not be activated until a student graduates from a state-approved teacher education program and is employed as a teacher by the DOE. The loan forgiveness is to a public school teacher who has already left a university.

Eligibility for the program is determined by the registrar of a state-approved teacher education program (who ensures that a student has graduated) and is administered by a designated federal credit union with existing services for teachers. Different from Spears v. Honda, where the Court found that the State had essentially abdicated the responsibility of administering the program to the private schools and allowed the private schools to determine who would receive the subsidy for bus transportation, in this program the Legislature would appropriate the funds to the University of Hawaii, who will assist in administering the program with the designated federal credit union.

Another factor is that the DOE invests a significant amount of time and money in recruiting from the mainland. This is proving to be a poor investment because many mainland recruits leave Hawaii within the first three years of teaching. Our local graduates have an 80-90% retention rate and are highly qualified to teach based on the high scores being received on the PRAXIS exams.

Your Committee has amended the measure by:

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. 2816, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2816, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.