STAND. COM. REP. 2687
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2004
RE: S.B. No. 2424
S.D. 2
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2004
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2424, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NEW CENTURY CONVERSION CHARTER SCHOOLS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to allow new century charter school employees to retain their civil service status upon the conversion of their school to a new century conversion charter school.
The measure also:
(1) Requires the Department of Human Resources Development to develop and implement procedures to ensure that new century conversion charter schools offer employees hired after conversion the choice of civil service status; and
(2) Allows employees of new century conversion charter schools to retain civil service status upon transfer to a non-charter school of the Department of Education.
Your Committee finds that Act 2, Session Laws of Hawaii 2002, enabled a non-profit corporation to partner with an existing public school to become a new century conversion charter school. Your Committee further finds that the new century conversion charter schools provide the opportunity for greater flexibility, choice, and accountability in public schools, concentrating on improved student achievement. However, the Department of Human Resources Development has determined that, upon conversion, charter school employees lose their civil service status and any requisite benefits. Subsequently, the Department of Education and Department of Human Resources Development reached a one-year agreement to allow charter school employees to continue their civil service status, with the hope that a legislative solution to this problem would ensue.
Your Committee believes that this loss of civil service status was an unintended consequence of the charter school conversion process.
Therefore, your Committee finds that employees of conversion charter schools should be permitted to retain their civil service status upon conversion or transfer from a conversion charter school to another Department of Education school. Your Committee also finds that conversion charter schools should be permitted to provide the choice of civil service status to new hires.
Your Committee has amended the measure by:
(1) Clarifying that the term "applicable employees", as used in the measure, means employees of the Department of Education that achieved civil service status in their position at a school prior to the school's conversion to a new century conversion charter school; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2424, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2424, S.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,
|
____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair |
||