STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO.763

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 1237

S.D. 1

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 1237 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide definitions of "out-of-field teacher" and "teaching out-of-field" for the purposes of reporting by the Department of Education (Department).

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board and the Hawaii State Teachers Association. The Department of Education submitted testimony in support of the intent of this measure.

Your Committee finds that existing law requires the Department of Education to submit an annual report regarding the numbers and types of teachers employed outside their certified teaching area. Your Committee further finds that there have been ongoing concerns about the numbers of teachers employed in positions for which they are not certified to teach and that this information should be publicly reported.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Moving the definitions of "out-of-field teacher" and "teaching out-of-field" from section 302A-804, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) to section 302A-101, HRS, and replacing the term "areas of preparation" with "authorized licensing field" in those definitions;

(2) Deleting the new provisions of section 302A-804, HRS, to require separate reporting by principals and the Department; and

(3) Requiring as part of it's existing responsibilities under section 302A-804, HRS, that the Department of Education submit an annual report to the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, to be posted on the Department's Internet website, and requiring the inclusion of data on out-of-field teaching and teachers.

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. 1237, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1237, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

		____________________________ NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair