Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2057 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for faculty positions at the University of Hawaii College of Education.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the University of Hawaii, Department of Education, Hawaii State Teachers Association, and Good Beginnings Alliance.

Currently, our State is facing a shortage of qualified teachers. The Department of Education's need for new special education teachers each year is between three hundred and four hundred. This measure adds sixteen teachers for regular education and seven for special education. The added funding in this measure will stabilize the university's Special Education Program and remove the dependency on the Department of Education's funding.

Your Committee finds that the Department of Education should not be expected to continue to subsidize teacher preparation. Teacher preparation is a university responsibility and it is appropriate that the university be provided the resources necessary to address the need for special education 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. 2057 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.