Report Title:
Appropriations; Student to Teacher Ratio; Education
Description:
Appropriates funds for decreasing the student to teacher ratio in Hawaii public schools.
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2276 |
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TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to the student to teacher ratio in Public Schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The United States Department of Education's senior research analyst has stated that, "[t]he strongest pre‑college predictor of degree completion is the academic intensity and the quality of a student's high school curriculum." However, crowded classrooms, exhausted resources, and scarce funding adversely affect the quality of the curriculum in our schools.
The legislature finds that Hawaii public schools are presently overcrowded with an average of twenty-five to twenty-seven students per classroom. This situation hinders the learning process by making the environment less accommodating to one-on-one student to teacher interaction.
According to the Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio report for the 2006-2007 school year, without direct communication between student and teacher the subject is insufficiently learned by the student. This results in a loss of student competency and an inability to meet educational standards. As a result, schools fail to achieve satisfactory passing rates in standardized examinations and basic skills tests.
According to Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio research, students placed in smaller classes for kindergarten through third grade performed significantly better on standardized skills tests. These benefits were shown to have a lasting effect, as the improvement in student performance remained unchanged when students returned to larger classes after the third grade.
Studies in other states indicate that lowering the student to teacher ratio effectively improves education. In Texas, reductions in class size and increased teacher quantity were shown to be central to increasing student achievement. An identical Tennessee study outlined in the Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio report also found that a reduction in class size greatly benefited students.
The 2007 Hawaii Secondary Student Conference recommended that the state government and department of education effectively work to reduce the student teacher ratio in order to improve standardized test scores. Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to implement a reformation program for the Hawaii state public school system designated specifically towards increasing the staffing of teachers and balancing the student to teacher ratio.
SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009 for improving the student learning environment by decreasing the student to teacher ratio.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2008.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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