Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 873 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the Department of Education to staff qualified pre-school teachers and pre-school teacher aides in junior kindergartens beginning with the 2007-2008 school year.

Testimony in support of the measure was submitted by the Department of Education, University of Hawaii, Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children, and an individual. The Hawaii State Teachers Association and Good Beginnings Alliance submitted testimony in opposition.

Your Committee finds that junior kindergarten is not a pre-school and thus it would not be appropriate to employ pre-school teachers for junior kindergarten classrooms. The most current policy recommendations call for teachers in early childhood programs to have at least a bachelor's degree and specialized training in early childhood education.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this measure to require the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board to consider requiring junior kindergarten teachers to have a bachelors degree in elementary education and junior kindergarten aides to have at least an associate's degree in early childhood education for an accredited program.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 873, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 873, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.