SB1180

SECTION 1. Section 2 of Act 51, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004, provides that "[t]he department of education, from within appropriations provided to the department of education, shall provide supplementary allocations to those schools whose budgets are adversely affected upon the implementation of the weighted student formula, as determined by the superintendent, for no more than three years beginning with the 2006-2007 school year." The use of the weighted student formula in Hawaii public schools is codified under section 302A-1303.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

The legislature finds that it was not intended for any school to experience significant budgetary losses upon the implementation of the weighted student formula. The legislature further finds that the department of education should receive additional yearly funds to provide supplementary allocations under the weighted student formula to prevent significant budgetary losses, and that the supplementary allocations should not be limited to a three-year period of time.

The purpose of this Act is to amend the definition of "weighted student formula" to provide that a school operating budget shall not be reduced by use of the formula to below a threshold minimum amount. The purpose of this Act is also to appropriate funds to prevent the implementation of the weighted student formula from adversely affecting school budgets, and to remove the three-year restriction on the funds.

SECTION 2. Section 302A-101, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "weighted student formula" to read as follows:

""Weighted student formula" means a formula for allocating operating moneys to individual public schools that includes a system of weighted characteristics affecting the relative cost of educating each student attending a public school; provided that no school operating budget shall be reduced by use of the formula to below a threshold minimum amount as determined by the department."

SECTION 3. Act 51, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004, as amended by Act 221, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004, is amended by amending section 1 to read as follows:

"SECTION 1. Although many responsibilities are laid upon education, ultimately education must do no less than advance the endowment of human culture itself, so that each succeeding generation finds itself further along the road towards peace, social justice, and environmental sustainability in a society guided by creativity, compassion, and curiosity. This Act is a road map for a critical phase in that ongoing journey.

The legislature finds that significant changes need to be made to enhance Hawaii's public education system to ensure the success of that journey. Although the State's students, parents, teachers, school administrators, departmental staff, and other educational stakeholders strive to achieve excellence, their efforts will never be completely successful until various aspects of the system around them are improved.

The legislature has supported and will continue to support efforts by the department of education to improve Hawaii's schools as a means of enhancing the academic achievement, safety and well being, and civic commitment of students, to meet the evolving needs of today's communities.

The coordinated package of initiatives in this Act aims to implement comprehensive education reform in Hawaii's public schools and shall be known as the "Reinventing Education Act of 2004." Its main elements include:

(1) Establishing a weighted student formula;

(2) Providing additional information technology;

(3) Empowering principals through a Hawaii principals academy and other means;

(4) Strengthening community involvement through school community councils and parent-community networking centers;

(5) Providing more mathematics textbooks;

(6) Lowering class size in kindergarten, grade one, and grade two;

(7) Providing full-time, year-round, high school student activity coordinators;

(8) Providing support for students who need additional help to succeed in school;

(9) Establishing a national board certification incentive program for teachers;

(10) Enhancing teacher education;

(11) Reducing the bureaucracy that hampers the effectiveness of the department of education;

(12) Improving the educational accountability system; and

(13) Requiring board of education members to hold community meetings in their districts.

Research shows that student performance is significantly higher in smaller schools. While establishing smaller schools throughout the State is not financially feasible, some schools have taken it upon themselves to create smaller and more manageable learning communities within their schools. Research also strongly supports the need for early childhood education and the establishment of a coherent system that spans all levels of education. The department of education, teamed with the University of Hawaii and Good Beginnings Alliance to create a vision for such a system, which was presented in 2002, is now being implemented.

Despite these efforts, more needs to be done. Currently, public school principals are faced with a nearly impossible task, as they are asked to attend to every detail of operating their schools without enough institutional support or discretion to expend funds. While some support and additional school leadership is provided by the school/community-based management (SCBM) system at many schools throughout the State, SCBM plays a far more limited role at some locations, and has not been implemented at all at others.

Recently, departmental leadership was decentralized through the creation of the complex area system, including the hiring of complex area superintendents. While replacing the old district system with this new structure was an important first step, further changes need to be made to allow meaningful authority to exist as close to the schools as possible. The complex area structure will serve as an excellent base upon which to build these continued reforms. It is the legislature's intent to place a far greater number of decisions, and a much higher percentage of moneys, directly in the hands of individual schools and their leaders.

Another area of improvement necessary to promote excellence in learning is the method by which moneys are allocated to individual schools. Hawaii currently receives high marks nationally for funding equity, as being organized as a single unified system enables the State to fairly disburse moneys to schools. In other states, local revenue sources such as property taxes account for a significant portion of school and district funding, resulting in massive financial disparities between schools in more and less affluent areas.

Although the State avoids this particular pitfall, further improvements can be made to ensure that moneys go to the schools that truly have the greatest need, and to place more moneys at the discretion of individual schools. While the current funding system takes into account certain criteria when allocating moneys to schools, it does not comprehensively address the fact that some students are more costly to educate than others. For example, students with special needs, such as those with limited proficiency in English, or who have physical, psychological, or other impediments to learning, are more expensive to teach than students who are not faced with these barriers.

One method that can be used to address these funding issues is a weighted student formula. Under such a system, moneys are allocated to schools based on a system of weighted characteristics that apply to every student in the public schools.

Under a weighted student formula there are several advantages. Among other things:

(1) The relative cost of educating students can be much more accurately assessed, based upon the unique learning needs of each student;

(2) Funds follow students to whichever school they attend; and

(3) The budget process becomes more transparent as it is based on dollars, not staff positions.

However, establishing a weighted student formula cannot be effective in a vacuum. Other reform measures must be implemented as well. Principals will be empowered to act as the educational leaders of their schools, with more authority relating to budgeting, and more flexibility to expend funds. With these expanded powers, principals will be held accountable for their performance through a system that includes rewards, assistance, and sanctions. Principals will also need more training and support if they are required to take on additional duties, and are expected to advance student success. Furthermore, community involvement and support of schools will need to be enhanced if schools are to work effectively.

The department of education is also faced with significant impediments that will likely reduce its ability to effectively implement the weighted student formula. With educational responsibilities spread throughout numerous state agencies, there are various roadblocks to progress that could prevent the department of education and individual schools from successfully performing their duties and effectively using a new funding system.

The legislature finds that a comprehensive effort addressing all of these issues is required for Hawaii's public schools to maximize student achievement. Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to enhance educational outcomes in Hawaii's public schools by:

(1) Implementing the weighted student formula by:

(A) Requiring the department of education to provide supplementary allocations to those schools whose budgets are adversely affected by the weighted student formula [~~for no more than three years beginning with the 2006-2007 school year;~~], as determined by the superintendent;

(B) Establishing a committee on weights within the department of education to determine the unit value of student weights and recommend a weighted student formula to the board of education at least annually, and appropriating $10,000 to support the operation of the committee;

(2) Appropriating $2,000,000 to the department of education to facilitate field support, security, and privacy for the telecommunications network, and training regarding information technology infrastructure used to enhance accountability, compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and implementation of school reform including the weighted student formula;

(3) Supporting and empowering principals by:

(A) Requiring the department of education, with the invited participation of the exclusive bargaining agent of educational officers of the department of education, to propose salary schedules and other terms and conditions of employment of principals and vice principals based upon a twelve-month term of service, and report findings back to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the regular session of 2005;

(B) Requiring the board of education to classify all educational officer positions of the department of education to adopt two separate classification/compensation plans for educational officers:

(i) One for principals and vice principals (based on the general pattern of a school administrator's career development and associated school administrator's qualification requirements); and

(ii) One for all other educational officers (reflective of the career development pattern and qualification requirements for the respective professional field of expertise),

and including classification appeals procedures for both;

(D) Establishing a Hawaii principals academy to support and train complex area superintendents, principals, and prospective principals, and appropriating $500,000 to operate the academy;

(E) Clarifying the authority and responsibility of principals;

(F) Appropriating $183,780 to operate the department of education's administrator certification for excellence (ACE) program; and

(G) Appropriating $400,000 to compensate principals recalled to work by the department, outside of their regular term of service, for professional development and any other activities that may enhance their effectiveness as leaders of their schools;

(4) Enhancing community involvement in schools by:

(A) Appropriating $350,000 for training and other activities needed to facilitate the transition from the current SCBM system into a mandatory school community council system to be implemented at each public school, excluding new century charter schools and new century conversion charter schools;

(B) Clearly articulating the balance and reciprocity of powers and responsibilities between the principal and school community council; and

(5) Directly, concretely supporting the academic achievement and holistic development of students by:

(A) Appropriating $2,500,000 for mathematics textbooks and other mathematics learning materials in schools; provided that mathematics curriculum is aligned within the school complex;

(B) Appropriating $2,143,350 to reduce class size in kindergarten, grade one, and grade two by hiring seventy-five elementary school teachers;

(D) Appropriating $100,000 for programs that support parents in working with students who need additional help to succeed in school; provided the programs have measurable outcomes;

(6) Directly, concretely supporting teachers by:

(A) Establishing a national board certification incentive program to be administered by the Hawaii teacher standards board to continue comparable efforts initiated under a memorandum of understanding between the department of education and Hawaii teacher standards board which expires on June 30, 2005, and appropriating $480,000 to execute the memorandum of understanding during fiscal year 2004-2005;

(B) Appropriating $92,000 for the administration of the Hawaii teacher standards board; and

(C) Increasing the pool of qualified teachers and administrators by appropriating $500,000 to fund seven teacher education positions and one education administration faculty position at the college of education of the University of Hawaii;

(7) Reducing bureaucracy that hampers the effectiveness of the department of education by:

(A) Requiring the department of education to convene an interagency working group to address systemic impediments to the efficient management and operation of schools;

(B) Transferring certain key functions from various state agencies to the department of education; and

(C) Requiring the board of education to adopt a single school calendar for all public schools to apply beginning with the 2006-2007 school year;

(8) Enhancing educational accountability by:

(A) Requiring academic achievement, safety and well being, and civic responsibility of individual students to be assessed and tracked;

(B) Expanding the accountability provision to include fiscal accountability;

(D) Requiring clear, easily understandable report cards on key performance indicators for schools, school complexes, and the public school system; and

(E) Requiring the board of education to hold community meetings in each school district;

(9) Appropriating $400,000 for the piloting of school community councils and development of academic and financial plans at selected schools prior to the statewide implementation of the weighted student formula; and

(10) Requiring the department of education to submit findings and recommendations to the legislature prior to the 2005 regular session relating to the implementation of this Act."

SECTION 4. Act 51, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004, is amended by amending section 2 to read as follows:

"SECTION 2. The department of education, from within appropriations provided to the department of education, shall provide supplementary allocations to those schools whose budgets are adversely affected upon the implementation of the weighted student formula, as determined by the superintendent[~~, for no more than three years beginning with the 2006-2007 school year~~]."

SECTION 5. (a) There is established a weighted student formula revolving fund into which shall be deposited appropriations made by the legislature to the fund.

(b) The department of education may expend moneys in the weighted student formula revolving fund to provide supplementary allocations to those schools whose budgets are adversely affected upon the implementation of the weighted student formula, as determined by the superintendent. These schools may include:

(1) Multi-Track Schools, if needed;

(2) Schools with fluctuating student populations, especially those located in developing or transitional areas where significant structural development or demographic changes are taking place; and

(3) Schools that demonstrate a need for additional educators or other needs to be approved by the department.

SECTION 6. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $8,000,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008, and the same sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009, to be paid into the weighted student formula revolving fund created by this Act. The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2007.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1180
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII


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