HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	59
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the Board of education to evaluate the state's driver education program and its funding.

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's graduated licensing law mandates that students under age eighteen are required to take a classroom and a behind-the-wheel driver's education course to obtain a driver's license; and

     WHEREAS, section 431:10C-115, Hawaii Revised Statutes, provides funding for the mandated driver's education course from fees assessed by the Insurance Commissioner deposited into the special drivers education fund; and

     WHEREAS, the Board of Education's mission to promote equitable education for all students should be supported by making driver education training courses part of the basic curriculum in Hawaii's public high schools; and

     WHEREAS, all driver education instructors must be Department of Education certified teachers; and

     WHEREAS, driver education courses are often taught before or after school, placing a burden upon the limited resources of certified teachers; and

     WHEREAS, the lack of available certified teachers means that some high schools with significant student populations do not offer driver education; and

     WHEREAS, private driver education courses can cost as much as $500, which is prohibitively expensive for many families; and

     WHEREAS, the aforementioned factors are believed to result in a significant number of minors operating motor vehicles without the requisite training or appropriate licensure; 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 Board of Education is requested to:

     (1)  Report on costs and possible revenue sources for hiring one full-time equivalent driver education instructor for each public high school with more than seven hundred fifty students and one half-time equivalent driver education instructor for the remaining high schools;

     (2)  Report on driver education programs provided to high school students on all islands other than Oahu;

     (3)  Provide data from each high school regarding the number of students graduating without having completed driver education; and

     (4)  Submit to the Legislature no later than thirty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2009 a report of these findings; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education and the Department of Transportation are requested to review the implementation and funding of the driver education law as well as the distribution of the special drivers education fund, and to report findings and recommendations to the Legislature not later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2009; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, and the Superintendent of Education.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Driver Education Funding