Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 2645 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to exempt certified retired teachers from any prerequisite coursework that the Department of Education (DOE) requires of other substitute teachers.

The Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA), HSTA-Retired, and numerous concerned individuals testified in support of this bill. DOE opposed this measure.

Your Committee finds that there is a shortage of qualified substitute teachers. Your Committee further finds that an impediment to recruiting substitute teachers is the stipulation that requires all substitute teachers to take a 30-hour substitute teacher course at their own expense.

Your Committee has amended this bill by specifying that the exemption applies to retired DOE teachers who hold a teaching license.

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 H.B. No. 2645, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2645, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Labor and Public Employment.