Provides funding to expand the teacher cadet program to include six additional public schools.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii is still in need of teachers for the public school system. While the legislature would like to see Hawaii's own students returning to the public school system as teachers, the fact is that many of them do not choose to teach in the public school system, as students who just graduated from the University of Hawaii recently attested.

In order to address the teacher shortage, members of the Hawaii Alliance for Future Teachers initiated the teacher cadet program, which began in the 2004-2005 school year with the participation of the Kamehameha schools and five public schools: Campbell, Farrington, Kaimuki, and Kapolei high schools and Kahuku intermediate and high school. The program is modeled after a program in South Carolina that has been successful for the past twenty years in educating high school students in teaching, monitoring them in college, and obtaining jobs for students in their public school system.

Here, the program was developed to be a year-long elective course aimed at seniors, and students have mentors who will help them with college applications and financial planning. The program is targeted for students who are really interested in exploring education as a career option and should give them the guidance and support they need to ensure that they can make it.

The purpose of this Act is to encourage students to pursue a teaching career in the public school system by supporting the expansion of the teacher cadet program with additional funding for six additional public schools to participate in the program.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $462,144, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007, to assist in the expansion of the teacher cadet program to include an additional six public schools in the program.

SECTION 3. The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2006.