STAND. COM. REP. NO. 939

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 1300

H.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 1300, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to improve early childhood education in the state by establishing a rating committee and appropriating funds for the committee to, among other things:

(1) Develop a rating system for early childhood education, based on certain early childhood education program (program) indicators, according to which the State can:

(a) Issue licenses based on the rating of each program; and

(b) Issue subsidies to children based on the rating of the program they attend;

(2) Recommend measures for improving existing early childhood education programs; and

(3) Propose an overall plan for implementing early childhood education for all children.

 

The Good Beginnings Alliance, Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture, Hawaii Business Roundtable, American Academy of Pediatrics, Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids, and many concerned individuals testified in support of this bill. The Department of Education, Department of Human Services (DHS), Department of Health, and Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children supported the intent of this measure.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Clarifying the intent of the bill to create a ranking classification and a tiered subsidy system to match these rankings, to:

(a) Link services and support programs to ensure preschools and family child care of the highest quality and to support parents in providing positive early learning experiences for children;

(b) Help identify incentives for programs and services;

(c) Develop additional opportunities for early childhood learning; and

(d) Create awareness among parents and guardians of the importance of early learning experiences;

(2) Requiring DHS to adopt a ranking system, rather than a rating system, to be based on quality indicators instead of program indicators;

(3) Including learning program or curriculum in the list of quality indicators that the ranking system may be based on;

(4) Clarifying that the term "ranking system" means a system that provides indicators by which the quality of early childhood education programs may be assessed;

(5) Establishing an Early Childhood Education Task Force (Task Force), rather than a rating committee, to, among other things, develop quality indicators for a ranking system;

(6) Administratively attaching the Task Force to the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB), instead of creating the Task Force within the School Readiness Task Force;

(7) Allowing the Task Force to convene as needed;

(8) Adding to and clarifying the duties of the Task Force by requiring it to:

(a) Determine indicators of quality and create a ranking system for Hawaii’s early childhood education; and

(b) Propose an overall plan for implementing early childhood education for all children, including incentives, resources, infrastructure, and support for upgrading and creating new early childhood programs;

(9) No longer requiring the Task Force to meet with DHS and stakeholders in the early childhood education community to design the ranking system;

(10) Changing the membership of the Task Force as follows:

(a) Removing the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the teacher from the early childhood education community;

(b) Adding:

(i) The Dean of the College of Education at the University of Hawaii or the dean's designee;

(ii) A representative from each of the early childhood education communities in the counties of Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii, as appointed by the respective mayors;

(iii) A representative from the Kamehameha Schools Early Childhood Division;

(iv) A representative from the Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children; and

(v) A representative from the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools;

(c) Specifying that the member from the resource and referral community is to be selected by People Attentive To Children instead of the School Readiness Task Force; and

(d) Specifying that the member from the business community is to be selected by the Hawaii Business Roundtable instead of the School Readiness Task Force;

(11) Exempting the meetings of the Task Force from chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(12) Requiring the Task Force to submit a report of its progress, findings, and recommendations to DHS;

(13) Appropriating funds to be expended by LRB, rather than DHS, to support the operations of the Task Force;

(14) Setting a sunset date of June 30, 2008, for the Task Force; and

(15) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1300, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1300, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

 

____________________________

DWIGHT TAKAMINE, Chair