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.C.R. No. 60 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request Congress to amend the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) to include waivers to help states meet the requirements of the law, specifically, a waiver from deeming a school as failing based solely on participation rates, and to request sufficient funds to meet the mandates of the law.

Your Committee received testimony in support of the measure from the Department of Education, Hawaii State Teachers Association, and the Hawaii Government Employees Association.

Some debate centers on the need for additional accountability and flexibility in testing special education and limited English proficient students. The NCLB law has been criticized for identifying a school as "under-performing" based on the results of one subgroup, without consideration of the school's overall performance.

Your Committee finds that the need for additional accountability and flexibility is warranted, and thus amended the resolution by:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 60, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 60, S.D. 1.