HCR123 HD1

WHEREAS, in 2001, the Twenty-first Legislature transferred the responsibility for licensing teachers from the Department of Education to the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board consists of thirteen members, including not less than six licensed teachers regularly engaged in teaching, three educational officers, the Chairperson of the Board of Education or the chairperson's designee, the Superintendent of Education or the superintendent's designee, a representative of independent schools, and the Dean of the University of Hawaii College of Education or the dean's designee; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board establishes standards for the issuance and renewal of licenses; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board serves as the final adjudicator for appeals relating to licensing, including issuance or nonissuance of licenses, and the suspension, nonrenewal, and revocation of licenses; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board approves teacher education programs and the professional development of teachers; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board established within the state treasury a special fund into which all moneys received by the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board are deposited, including fees, fines, grants, and other revenues and which is administered by the Department of Education to fund all operational and personnel costs and reimburse board members for travel expenses incurred; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board is administratively attached to the Department of Education but has no oversight by or is not accountable to the Department of Education, acts autonomously, and at most prepares an annual report to the Legislature and the Governor regarding its operations but is otherwise only required to submit a report every five years to the Legislature and the Governor regarding its accomplishments to fulfill its statutory mission and efforts to achieve responsiveness and efficiency; and

WHEREAS, there are numerous professional and vocational licensing boards, administratively attached to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, that similarly establish licensing standards, implement licensing, enforce discipline, and perform other regulatory functions as the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board; and

WHEREAS, the licensing boards attached to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs do not act autonomously but rather receive direct oversight by and are accountable to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, including the monitoring of those boards' operations, goals, and accomplishments for efficiency and effectiveness; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs serves as a model to ensure accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness of boards and commissions administratively attached to an agency; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board is requested to commission an independent study that will review the models of administratively attached boards used in other states with similar responsibilities for licensing of teachers and other school personnel and program approval for institutions that prepare teachers and other school personnel and compare those models with the model of the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs for administratively attached boards and determine the statutory amendments needed for an appropriate model to be in place. This may be a model between the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board and the Department of Education, or between the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board and the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, or between the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board and another agency, so that it conforms with the model identified as providing the most accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board shall submit a report on the study, including its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2009; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Education, the Chairperson and Executive Director of the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the Hawaii State Teachers Association, and the Hawaii Government Employees Association.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

HTSB; Accountability Study

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	123
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII