STAND. COM. REP. NO. 119

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 688

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 688 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for the development and initiation of plans by the Hawaii P-20 Initiative Council for education in Hawaii for the coming century.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Department of Education, the Hawaii P-20 Initiative attached to the University of Hawaii System, and Good Beginnings Alliance.

     Your Committee finds that planning for education in the new century is a complex endeavor that must take into account early childhood, primary, secondary, and post-secondary education, as well as career and workforce training.  Your Committee further finds that a clear vision must be established and a plan for achieving that vision must be developed and initiated as soon as possible.  The Hawaii P-20 Initiative is a consortium of public and private educators, governmental officials, including representatives from the University of Hawaii and the Department of Education, and community leaders who work together to improve academic achievement in the State.  Your Committee believes that the Hawaii P-20 Initiative Council is the appropriate body to develop and initiate plans for education in Hawaii for the new century by ensuring that we produce responsible and productive citizens from an education system that contemplates a comprehensive vision that promotes lifelong learning from early childhood education to career and workforce preparation.

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Clarifying that funds appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii for the purposes of this Act; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for purposes of clarity 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. 688, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 688, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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

____________________________

NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair