SB2163

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2163
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to education.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that teacher licensing requirements in Hawaii differ from those of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which requires all schools to have "highly qualified" teachers in core academic subjects (defined as English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography). The legislature further finds that the state-federal licensure conflict can lead to confusion among teachers and administrators.

The purpose of this Act is to align the state's teacher licensure requirements with federal licensure requirements and improve the delivery of services to students.

SECTION 2. The Hawaii teacher standards board shall make the appropriate administrative rule changes to align state teacher licensure requirements with federal requirements. The changes shall include:

(1) Requiring that teachers who apply to add additional fields to existing teacher licenses submit that they have either:

(A) Passed the PRAXIS II subject matter assessments in each core academic subject for which licensure in an additional field is sought; or

(B) Completed a major (or the equivalent of a major which is thirty semester hours) in each core academic subject for which licensure in an additional field is sought;

(2) Eliminating the option to add a field to an existing license by submitting evidence of two years of teaching experience and eighteen credit hours of coursework (twelve in upper division or graduate levels); and

(3) Developing guidelines to streamline the proposal and approval of alternative routes to licensure programs that meet the federal requirements.

SECTION 3. Section 302A-804, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302A-804 Powers and duties of the department. The department shall retain all of its rights and powers except for the authority provided to the board under this subpart. The department's powers and duties under this subpart shall be limited to:

(1) Hiring, except in emergency situations as described in this chapter, licensed teachers to teach in their fields of licensing;

(2) Reporting data annually to the board about the supply of, and demand for, teachers, including the identification of shortage areas, out-of-field teaching assignments, numbers of teachers teaching out-of-field, numbers and types of courses and classes taught by out-of-field teachers, and numbers and types of students taught by out-of-field teachers;

(3) On an emergency and case-by-case basis, hiring unlicensed individuals; provided that:

(A) A list of the names, work sites, teaching assignments, and progress toward licensing of these individuals shall be reported to the board and any changes shall be updated on a monthly basis by the department;

(B) There are no properly licensed teachers for the specific assignments for which the individuals are being hired; and

(C) No individual may be employed by the department on an emergency basis for more than [~~four~~] three years. During this time the individual must demonstrate active pursuit of licensing in each year of employment;

(4) Submitting an annual report to the board documenting:

(A) The number of emergency hires by subject matter areas and by schools;

(B) The reasons and duration of employment for the emergency hiring enumerated in subparagraph (A);

(D) The department's efforts to address the shortages described in subparagraph (A); and

(5) Providing any other information requested by the board that is pertinent to its powers and duties."

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________