Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Education and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 61 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Auditor to conduct a fiscal audit of the Department of Education's Hawaiian Studies Program, especially the kupuna component, to clarify why there are numerous inconsistencies in the delivery and implementation of the program.

The State constitution (Article X, section 4) mandates the instruction of Hawaiian language, culture, and history in the public schools through the use of community expertise. In 1984, to facilitate implementation of the mandate, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs developed a kupuna program to recruit and train potential kupuna to teach within the Department of Education, Hawaiian Studies Program. However, the Program is not available in all schools and kupuna are paid using inconsistent methods, among other irregularities. Therefore, your Committees find that sufficient irregularities exist within the Department of Education's Hawaiian Studies Program to warrant a fiscal audit of the Program.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 61, as amended herein, recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 61, S.D. 1.