Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Education, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 90 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Department of Health to develop a program to ensure that all schools are staffed with school health aide personnel at all times.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DOE), Hawaii State Teachers Association, and Hawaii Government Employees Association.

Your Committees find that two-hundred fifty-five of two-hundred fifty-six public schools in the State have a permanent school health aide position. However, only forty-nine substitute school health aides statewide provide coverage during the absence of the permanent school health aide. This causes a problem for school principals, trying to find coverage to ensure the health and safety of students, when school health aides are absent from work. This measure would help ensure that all public school health rooms would be staffed at all times during the school day with qualified health personnel.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Requesting the DOH collaborate with the DOE; and

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Education that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 90, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 90, S.D. 1.