STAND. COM. REP. 1128

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 1700

S.D. 1

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 1700, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHARTER SCHOOLS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to improve the funding and administration of charter schools by:

(1) Establishing a new budget program identification number for charter schools;

(2) Establishing a charter school education agency (agency) to provide administrative oversight of charter schools;

(3) Requiring the agency to be governed by a nine-member board of directors appointed by the charter schools and administered by an executive director appointed by the board of directors;

(4) Requiring the Legislature, based upon the projected enrollment of a charter school, to appropriate for each school an amount based upon the average per pupil cost for public schools in the previous year;

 

(5) Requiring the Legislature to appropriate a base per- pupil amount for each general and special education student and a supplemental amount for each special education student;

(6) Requiring the Department of Education (DOE) and charter school representatives to develop a list of central services that DOE may offer for purchase at an annual cost, to be negotiated between an individual charter school and the DOE;

(7) Requiring charter schools to develop and provide special education and related services within a student's individualized education program if the student is eligible for special education and related services; and

(8) Requiring the Department of Budget and Finance to make allocations directly to charter schools for fiscal year 2003-2004 to enable the schools to access state funds prior to the establishment of the agency.

The Hawaii Association of Independent Schools, the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Hawaii Charter Schools Network, and numerous students, teachers, administrators, and other individuals from various charter schools submitted testimony in support of this bill. The League of Women Voters of Hawaii submitted testimony in support of this bill with proposed amendments. DOE, Hawaii State Teachers Association, Hawaii Business Roundtable, and Kamehameha Schools submitted testimony in support of the intent of this bill. The State Auditor and Hawaii Government Employees Association submitted comments on this bill.

Your Committee finds that it is critical to establish a more effective system of funding charter schools. Since the establishment of New Century Charter Schools, there have been difficulties in establishing an equitable formula for appropriating moneys to charter schools, which has forced many charter schools to find ways to operate on very limited funding.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Changing the new budget program identification number for charter schools from EDN 110 to EDN 700;

 

(2) Requiring that appropriations to charter schools be based on projected enrollment and the per-pupil amount provided for DOE students as reported in most recent DOE consolidated annual financial report;

(3) Deleting the agency and associated references;

(4) Restoring statutory language relating to federal funding for charter schools and provisions requiring the timely transfer of operating funds to charter schools;

(5) Appropriating funds to DOE for the operation of charter schools; and

(6) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for purposes of style and clarity.

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. 1700, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1700, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

 

____________________________

ROY M. TAKUMI, Chair