STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1142-06

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2006

RE: S.B. No. 3195

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 3195, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to provide adequate resources for education in the classroom by appropriating funds for:

(1) A Weighted Student Formula Conversion Program to provide supplementary funds for schools that are adversely affected by the Weighted Student Formula;

(2) Equipment, services, and supplies; and

(3) Reimbursements to teachers for instructional and classroom supplies purchased with personal funds.

The Department of Education (DOE) and Hawaii State Teachers Association testified in support of this bill. The Hawaii Government Employees Association supported the intent of this measure.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Clarifying purpose language;

(2) Inserting an appropriation amount of $20,000,000 to help ease public schools' transition into the new spending method under the weighted student formula;

(3) Deleting the appropriations for:

(a) School equipment, supplies, and services; and

(b) Reimbursements of up to $200 per classroom for teachers' personal funds expended for classroom and instructional supplies;

(4) Inserting appropriations as follows:

(a) $2,400,000 to provide $200 debit cards to each of 12,000 teachers to purchase classroom supplies;

(b) $2,000,000 for science textbooks and classroom science equipment;

(d) $500,000 for Advanced Placement teacher training, test costs, and classroom materials;

(e) $17,295,867 for special education needs, including for occupational therapists, physical therapists, special education teachers, speech language pathologists, nursing for the medically fragile, and school-based behavioral health services;

(f) $5,000,000 for information technology to help DOE streamline and raise the automation level of its key operational processes; and

(g) $1,193,669 for English as a Second Language services, including instruction, transitional bilingual support, and multicultural educational services;

and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3195, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3195, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

		____________________________ ROY TAKUMI, Chair