SB1265

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that recruitment and retention of qualified teachers for Hawaii's public schools continues to be a challenge for Hawaii's department of education and charter schools, as well as the teacher education community. The University of Hawaii's college of education plays a major role in the education of future teachers, continued professional development of educators, and programs that lead to licensing, certificate programs, mentoring of teachers, educational research, and policy studies.

The legislature further finds that the strategic plan of the University of Hawaii at Manoa calls for an ongoing commitment to public education in Hawaii.

The legislature further finds that teachers have expressed great frustration with the implementation of and compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act. Since its enactment, there has been a significant amount of experience and analysis of the effectiveness of the No Child Left Behind Act approach to assessments and standards. At the same time, many school systems, including the Hawaii state department of education, have sought to utilize nationally produced assessment instruments that have not always met the needs of our communities. In fact, our State, like many others, has not taken full advantage of the flexibilities that are offered by federal law. It is also apparent that referencing our standards requirements to a law that may be modified or repealed may limit the State's options.

The legislature further finds that greater collaboration between the University of Hawaii's many educational resources, including the Hawaii educational policy center and the department of education, will benefit all of Hawaii's students.

Specifically, this Act includes appropriations for the following programs:

(1) Teacher education capacity (fiscal year 2007-2008: $65,000; fiscal year 2008-2009: $130,000). To continue efforts to fill the State's need for qualified teachers for Hawaii's keiki, this appropriation for additional permanent positions in fiscal year 2007 and another in fiscal year 2008 for the college of education allows the school to accept more qualified students into teacher education programs, thus increasing the number and quality of locally produced teachers in shortage areas such as mathematics, science, and, in keeping the P-20 initiative, early childhood education;

(2) Center on disability studies (fiscal year 2008-2009: $120,000). To meet federal grant requirements for institutional support, the center on disability studies requests two additional permanent faculty positions. The center on disability studies operates with only one general-funded position. The additional positions will enable the center on disability studies to further expand its ability to obtain additional grant funds and, therefore, its outreach to serve the increasing numbers of persons with disabilities. The center on disability studies works through training, research, and service to improve quality of life for people with disabilities throughout the State, and currently manages more than eighty-eight faculty and staff members and fifty projects with a budget of over $15,000,000;

(3) Funding for mentor teachers (fiscal year 2007-2008: $125,000; fiscal year 2008-2009: $125,000). Cooperating teachers/counselors and observation/participating teachers in grades kindergarten through twelve classrooms throughout the State provide an essential service to the college of education by supervising and mentoring full-time student teachers and other education practicum students in the field required for licensure. Funding for this item is requested to:

(A) More appropriately compensate mentor teachers for the additional work they provide in developing Hawaii's teacher workforce; and

(B) Put mentor compensation on par with other institutions of higher learning in the State;

(4) Funding for schools to apply to become professional development schools (fiscal year 2007-2008: $250,000; fiscal year 2008-2009: $250,000). Schools may compete for grants that address standards-based learning, teacher preparation, and professional development by the placement of faculty within the school to work with future and current teachers;

(5) Permanent special education faculty (fiscal year 2008‑2009: $500,000). The State of Hawaii's need for more qualified special education teachers is increasing. In order to fulfill this need, the college of education requests funds to hire seven permanent faculty and one full-time staff person in the special education department. These positions are temporarily being funded by the Hawaii department of education, and if this funding were discontinued it would severally impact the college of education’s ability to produce qualified special education teachers;

(6) Funding responsibility for the master of education in teaching program (fiscal year 2007-2008: $700,000; fiscal year 2008-2009: $700,000). Transfer funding for the master of education in teaching program from the department of education to the college of education and expand stipends to include native Hawaiian cohort teachers (fiscal year 2007-2008: $700,000; fiscal year 2008-2009: $700,000). The master of education in teaching program is a two-year program, including two semesters of field experience in grades kindergarten through twelve classroom settings. During the fourth semester, teacher candidates work as teacher interns, whereby they take over a vacated department of education teacher position and are the teacher of record from January to the end of the department of education calendar year. The college requests funds to pay mentor teachers in the program and stipends to the student interns in both the on-going master of education in teaching program cohort and to expand funding to include the native Hawaiian master of education in teacher program cohort;

(7) Provide funding for the office of school redesign at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (fiscal year 2007-2008: $300,000; fiscal year 2008-2009: $300,000). The office of school redesign will provide technical support to public secondary schools and help in the development and implementation of small learning communities within large secondary schools throughout the State. With the appropriated moneys, the office will:

(A) Maintain a research database on the creation and effectiveness of small redesigned secondary schools;

(B) Lead state advocacy efforts for the creation of small redesigned secondary schools;

(C) Provide technical assistance to schools engaging in redesign through professional development institutes, facilitating/arranging visitations to exemplary or merging sites in Hawaii and elsewhere, and preparing/supporting a cadre of on-site coaches;

(D) Develop and promote connections and professional development opportunities for learning and sharing among local change agents;

(E) Participate with national networks of practitioners and researchers involved in launching or redesigning schools and school systems;

(F) Promote the concept of a research cadre that will be involved in developing, documenting, and disseminating understandings about school redesign, and contributing to a research database. Promote and facilitate dialogue among various school shareholders with respect to the most current research and understandings about school redesign;

(G) Foster communication among educators, decision-makers, and the greater community to advance secondary school redesign; and

(H) Assist schools in preparing grant applications to advance redesign activities;

(8) Continue to support the collaboration of the college of education in filling the gap in producing highly qualified teachers. The Teach for America program in Hawaii is a partnership of the Hawaii department of education, the University of Hawaii college of education, and the national Teach for America program with support from the state legislature, the governor’s office, and private foundations/corporations. The intent is to provide highly qualified teachers in traditionally hard to fill areas such as mathematics, science, and special education, to serve in high poverty, high need communities. These are areas that the institutions of higher education in Hawaii collectively have been consistently unable to address. Teach for America is currently recruiting teachers to fill Hawaii vacancies. The college of education requests funding to provide a masters of education in teaching degree for newly hired Teach for America teachers (4 positions for fiscal year 2008: $250,000; 4 positions for fiscal year 2009 $250,000); and

(9) Create a seamless career pathway from high school to community college to baccalaureate completion preparing education assistants and teachers to fill high need areas through Leeward community college and the University of Hawaii at Manoa college of education. Leeward community college and the college of education will work together to recruit, train, and retain prospective education assistants, paraprofessionals, and elementary and secondary teachers by combining resources to reach out to community members interested in pursuing a career in education. Leeward community college will provide education training resulting in an associate of arts in teaching degree. The college of education will accept Leeward community college associate of arts in teaching degree holders into an upper division cohort specially designed for associate of arts in teaching graduates that will lead to state teacher licensure. Courses will be delivered in Leeward communities through face-to-face, distance learning, and/or hybrid instruction. Leeward community college requests 2.5 positions (fiscal year 2008: $158,000; fiscal year 2009: $158,000). College of education requests 3 positions (fiscal year 2008: $255,000; fiscal year 2009: $255,000).

The legislature further finds that most reform efforts in the United States have the benefit of a well-funded, independent policy research institute to assist policy makers. The Hawaii educational policy center, located at the University of Hawaii, has provided valuable analysis in the past, but has not received the financial commitment from the State to permit the level of assistance needed by policy makers in the field of education.

The purpose of this Act is to provide funding for key programs that will increase the capacity of the college of education to educate qualified teachers, meet federal requirements for institutional support of disability studies, expand teacher professional development and mentoring programs, and transfer the office of school redesign from the department of education to the University of Hawaii. In addition, this Act will:

(1) Update the performance standards commission membership and reporting schedule;

(2) Remove references to specific federal laws and the current testing grades in anticipation of possible federal changes in law;

(3) Call for greater focus on the use of alternative assessments based on performance of students;

(4) Call for a more concerted effort to develop a more comprehensive "growth model" for Hawaii public schools;

(5) Provide funds to the Hawaii educational policy center to take the lead in the development of these assessments and to continue to provide expert analysis and commentary to assist policy makers;

(6) Clarify the dual purposes of the Hawaii educator loan program; and

(7) Amend the amounts of loan forgiveness for the Hawaii educator loan program.

SECTION 2. Section 302A-201, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302A-201 Statewide performance standards. (a) The board shall establish statewide performance standards and the means to assess the standards based upon the recommendations in the final report of the performance standards commission established pursuant to Act 334, Session Laws of Hawaii 1991; provided that the board may review and modify the performance standards, as the board deems necessary, to reflect the needs of public school students and educational goals adopted by the board.

(b) The board shall appoint a performance standards review commission, to be convened at the beginning of the 1997-1998 school year, and every four years thereafter, to assess the effectiveness of the performance standards. The commission shall include representatives of the Hawaii State Parent, Teacher, Student Association; the Hawaii State Student Council; the superintendent; the dean of the college of education of the University of Hawaii; the executive director of the charter schools administrative office; and the professional education community. [~~The commission may request the assistance of such department or school staff as may be necessary to facilitate its review.~~] The commission shall be staffed by the Hawaii educational policy center.

(c) The commission shall review the implementation of the performance standards by the board and the schools to determine whether the standards should be modified. In making this determination, the commission shall seek public input by holding public forums to discuss the implementation and effectiveness of the performance standards. The commission shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations regarding the effectiveness of the standards and the need for modification of the standards to the board and the legislature prior to the convening of the 1999 regular session. The board shall consider and implement the modifications beginning with the 1999-2000 school year.

(d) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the department shall establish procedures and guidelines for, and shall expand, its statewide assessment program to include norm-referenced testing in the same grades as required by [~~the~~] federal [~~No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110)~~] standards-based [~~assessment (grades 3 through 8 and one grade in high school) in reading and math, using the most appropriate nationally normed test.~~] assessments.

(e) The department shall work with the University of Hawaii and other educational organizations to develop alternative assessment tools, including the use of portfolios that may be used as part of the University of Hawaii's admission standards, performance-based assessments that provide alternatives to schools and students to the multiple-choice formats, as well as assessments that measure the academic growth of students while at a school. The department and the University of Hawaii shall report annually to the legislature on the progress in development of these alternatives."

SECTION 3. Section 304A-701, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§304A-701[]] Hawaii educator loans; eligibility; amounts[.]; forgiveness. (a) There is created the Hawaii educator loan program to be administered by the University of Hawaii, [~~to provide financial support to students who complete~~] the purpose of which is to:

(1) Provide recruitment incentives for students to enroll in state-approved teacher education programs; and

(2) Provide a retention incentive for teachers who have graduated from a state-approved teacher education program and who agree to teach in the Hawaii public school system.

Eligibility shall be awarded by the university to students on a competitive basis.

(b) The amount to be loaned to a student under the recruitment incentive loan portion shall be determined by the board of regents based on need for financial aid and proof of acceptance into a state-approved teacher education program at the university. The maximum amount of loans that a student may receive under this program shall be an aggregate amount equivalent to tuition payments and costs of textbooks and other instructional materials necessary to complete a state-approved teacher education program.

SECTION 4. Section 304A-702, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending subsection (b) to read:

"(b) Upon a showing of proof that the loan recipient has completed a state-approved teacher education program and is employed as a full-time teacher in the Hawaii public school system, [~~one-tenth~~] per cent of the total amount of the loan and interest shall be waived for every year of the first [~~five~~] three years, and the remaining balance shall be waived after the sixth year that a loan recipient teaches in a Hawaii public school in a hard-to-fill position as determined by the superintendent of education, including special education, regular education shortage categories, or Title 1 schools, and in one of the following capacities:

(1) As an elementary school teacher teaching in the field of elementary education who has met standards as set forth by the Hawaii teacher standards board; or

(2) As a secondary school teacher teaching in the subject area that is relevant to the loan recipient's academic major as certified by the department of education who has met standards as set forth by the Hawaii teacher standards board."

2. By amending subsection (d) to read:

"(d) If a loan recipient subject to this section fails to teach in the Hawaii public school system for a minimum of [~~ten~~] six consecutive years from the loan recipient's original date of employment with the department of education[,] or a charter school, excluding sabbatical and other forms of temporary leaves of absence, then the loan recipient shall repay any remaining loan balance at the rate of ten per cent simple interest."

SECTION 5. 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 2007-2008, and the same sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009, for the University of Hawaii to carry out the purposes of this Act, including the hiring of necessary staff; provided that:

(1) For fiscal year 2007-2008 the sums appropriated shall be allocated as follows:

(A) $65,000 for an additional position for the college of education to increase teacher education capacity;

(B) $125,000 for funding mentor teachers;

(D) $700,000 for the master of education in teaching program;

(E) $300,000 for the office of school redesign;

(F) $250,000 for the college of education to fund masters of education in teaching degrees for teachers;

(G) $158,000 for 2.5 (FTE) positions for Leeward community college for educational training;

(H) $255,000 for 3.0 (FTE) positions for the college of education for educational training; and

(I) $ for the Hawaii educator loan program.

(2) For fiscal year 2008-2009 the sums appropriated shall be allocated as follows:

(A) $130,000 shall be for 2.0 (FTE) positions for the college of education to increase teacher education capacity;

(B) $120,000 for 2.0 (FTE) positions for the center on disability studies;

(D) $250,000 to enable schools to apply to become professional development schools;

(E) $500,000 for permanent special education faculty;

(F) $700,000 for the master of education in teaching program;

(G) $300,000 for the office of school redesign;

(H) $250,000 for the college of education to fund masters of education in teaching degrees for teachers;

(I) $158,000 for 2.5 (FTE) positions for Leeward community college for educational training;

(J) $255,000 for 3.0 (FTE) positions for the college of education for educational training; and

(K) $ for the Hawaii educator loan program.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii.

SECTION 6. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $400,000, 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 the Hawaii educational policy center at the University of Hawaii to provide staff for the performance standards commission; to work with the department of education and other educational research organizations, such as Kamehameha Schools; to develop alternative assessment tools, including a comprehensive "growth model" for use in measuring student achievement over time at a school; and to provide independent comment and analysis on issues before the legislature, the board of education, and the department of education.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii.

SECTION 7. 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 2007-2008, and the same sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009, for the operations of the teacher cadet program, including recruitment, retention, training, and teacher support.

The sums appropriated shall be deposited into the Hawaii teacher cadet program fund for the purposes of this Act; provided that the Hawaii Alliance for Future Teachers match the amounts as provided in section 302A-401.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

SECTION 8. 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 2007-2008, and the same sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009, for induction teacher mentoring for newly licensed teachers and licensed teachers who are new to Hawaii based upon a 15:1 teacher to mentor ratio.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 9. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2007.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1265
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII