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. 2070 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funding for the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board.

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

Your Committee finds that independent licensing boards are being established in states throughout the nation as part of an important effort to build and support the teaching profession. In spite of some growing pains as the organization comes up to speed, it has been fulfilling this mandate. One of the primary impediments to its stable operation is the difficulty it has in attracting qualified staff.

Your Committee further finds that although there is no statutory impediment to its hiring of permanent staff, the board is only attached administratively to the Department of Education and is not included in their annual budget. For this reason, the board must approach the Legislature for funding each year to supplement the fees it collects from its members. The Legislature should review its budgetary procedures regarding this entity in an attempt to staff the board with more permanent positions than the three it currently has.

Your Committee has amended the measure to provide for the conversion of two existing Hawaii Teacher Standards Board positions to permanent ones.

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. 2070, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2070, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.