SB3252 SD2

PART I

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii has experienced a severe teacher shortage and rampant turnover in its public schools for the past decade. Each year, the State hires approximately one thousand six hundred new teachers to fill vacant positions statewide. However, once hired, approximately fifty per cent of these newly hired teachers leave the system within five years. The Hawaii educational policy center reports that a primary concern of those leaving is dissatisfaction with an overall lack of professional support for new teachers. Additionally, the Hawaii State Teachers Association reports that, based on a survey of its members, approximately one-third of teachers will leave the profession after only three years with forty-six per cent leaving within five years.

The legislature further finds that the loss of teachers costs the department of education approximately $4,000,000 per year. This estimation, however, may be a conservative estimate with more fully comprehensive estimates totaling closer to $29,000,000 per year.

The purpose of this measure is to address the ongoing teacher shortage problem in the State through various programs, incentives, appropriations, and changes to the current law relating to teachers. Specifically, this measure:

(1) Appropriates funds for public school teachers and teacher candidates to take PRAXIS preparatory courses, tutorials, or programs to become highly qualified under the No Child Left Behind Act;

(2) Provides teachers with full service credit for prior teaching experience up to a maximum of ten years when determining the classification of a teacher hired to teach in a hard-to-fill school, a shortage area category, or other shortage area as determined department of education and any newly hired teacher who meets all the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act;

(3) Provides local private school or out-of-state national board certified teachers with full credit for the teacher's total number of years of teaching experience;

(4) Provides teachers hired for the 2004-2005 school year through the 2007-2008 school year full service credit for prior teaching experience up to a maximum of ten years when determining the classification of a teacher hired to teach in a hard-to-fill school or other shortage area as determined department of education;

(5) Appropriates funds to establish professional development schools within Hawaii public schools to train preservice teachers;

(6) Appropriates funds to complex areas for academic coaches, professional development, and the retention of teachers;

(7) Establishes the teacher housing allowance program to provide housing assistance to teachers employed in schools in geographically isolated areas or hard-to-fill positions within the State. Appropriates funds for the program and requires the department of education to report to the Legislature on alternative teacher housing incentives;

(9) Appropriates funds for the Hawaii teacher cadet program to address the teacher shortage; and

(10) Appropriates funds for a Hawaii beginning teacher induction pilot program within the department of education.

PART II

SECTION 2. The legislature finds that the Hawaii educational policy center has reported that, based on preliminary data, by the 2010-2011 school year, the number of new hires required each year in Hawaii public schools can be reduced from one thousand six hundred to approximately one thousand four hundred. By the 2015-2016 school year, the number can be reduced to approximately eight hundred new hires. In order to accomplish the foregoing reductions, the State must support efforts to assist in-service teachers in passing PRAXIS examinations to become licensed.

The purpose of this part is to appropriate funds to assist public school teachers and teacher candidates participating in preparatory courses, tutorials, or programs for the PRAXIS examinations in order to become highly qualified under the No Child Left Behind Act.

SECTION 3. 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 2008-2009 to assist public school teachers seeking to become highly qualified under the No Child Left Behind Act by paying for their participation in preparatory courses, tutorials, or programs for the PRAXIS examinations.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this part.

PART III

SECTION 4. Section 302A-618, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) The designation of any teacher to any given class shall be determined by the department in accordance with licensing requirements[.]; provided that, for purposes of classifying teachers:

(1) Any teacher hired to teach in a hard-to-fill school, a shortage area category, or other shortage area as determined by the department and any teacher who meets all the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act shall be provided full service credit equal to the teacher's total number of years of teaching experience; provided that the service credit shall not exceed ten years; provided further that any teacher hired to teach in a hard-to-fill school, a shortage area category, or other shortage area as determined by the department and any teacher who meets all the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act hired between January 1, 2004, and June 30, 2008, shall not receive retroactive pay related to the provision of full service credit allowed under this paragraph; and

(2) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, a national board certified teacher shall be provided full service credit equal to the teacher's total number of years teaching experience."

PART IV

SECTION 5. The legislature finds that, pursuant to Act 313, Session Laws of Hawaii 2001, the legislature supported and funded the establishment and support of professional development schools in Hawaii. Professional development schools, wherein a public school enters into formal agreements with teacher education programs that address standards-based education and teacher preparation, equip teachers with the resources and skills necessary to ensure that all students attain their full potential. An important component of professional development schools is mentoring and induction, which is only part of a holistic approach focused on a specific school or an entire complex. Professional development schools are based on shared decision-making between all parties to improve student learning. Professional development schools have proven successful in: (1) helping hard-to-fill schools nurture their own future teachers; (2) better preparing teacher candidates to teach; (3) positively impacting preschool through grade twelve student achievement; and (4) improving teacher retention.

The purpose of this part is to appropriate funds for the establishment of professional development schools for teachers in public schools in the State.

SECTION 6. 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 2008-2009 for the establishment of four professional development schools for teachers in Hawaii public schools; provided that:

(1) The department of education shall allocate funds to professional development schools by means of competitive grants subject to the availability of resources;

(2) A grant application shall include a description of how the professional development school will meet the professional development school standards of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education and the department's six images of success:

(A) Standards-based learning;

(B) Professionalism and the capacity of the system;

(D) Coordinated teamwork;

(E) Responsiveness of the system; and

(F) Focused and sustained action;

(3) Five per cent of the funds appropriated for the establishment and continued development of professional development schools shall be set aside for program administration, including an annual professional development school conference;

(4) Grants may be awarded for up to five years at a time and may be renewable; and

(5) Professional development schools shall present annual reports to the department and shall present findings at the annual professional development schools conference.

For the purposes of this part, "professional development schools" means those public schools, consortia of schools, or departments within schools that have entered into formal agreements with state-approved teacher education programs to address standards-based education, teacher preparation, and professional development.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this part.

PART V

SECTION 7. The legislature finds that the board of education, in 2002, approved the superintendent's proposal to establish complex areas, headed by complex area superintendents, and comprised of two or more school complexes. Each school complex consists of a high school and the intermediate or middle and elementary schools that feed into it. The establishment of complex areas allows each administrator to focus on the needs of the supporting schools and school complexes to provide better supervision and support.

The legislature believes that the establishment of complex areas provides the opportunity for the more efficient management of schools and school complexes contained therein. The allocation of resources within a complex area could also prove highly cost-effective. More autonomy in the management of complex areas can yield beneficial results for the students, staff, and administrators. For these reasons, greater discretion for the allocation of resources should lie with the complex area superintendents.

The purpose of this part is to provide funding to the complex areas for academic coaches for students and programs or initiatives for professional development and to increase teacher retention.

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 2008-2009 for the fifteen school complex areas; provided that the funds shall be provided on a per pupil basis, which shall be in addition to the allocation provided according to the weighted student formula; provided further that the funds appropriated shall be allocated to provide for the following:

(1) Academic coaches for school programs for students including but not limited to robotics, speech and debate, and science clubs; provided that the department of education shall establish and provide funding at three different levels, based upon the total number of students participating in the club or activity and the total number of hands-on hours the coach spends with the students;

(2) Programs or initiatives for professional development for teachers; and

(3) Programs or initiatives to increase teacher retention.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this part.

PART VI

SECTION 9. The legislature finds that with an overall shortage of teachers and other educational staff members, including administrators and related service professionals, many schools have difficulty keeping staff from accepting positions in other schools or leaving the profession altogether. The cost and availability of housing can greatly impact the recruitment and retention of teachers, especially in geographically isolated communities and in schools plagued with hard-to-fill vacancies. In addition, the high cost of housing in Hawaii creates added economic stress on younger teachers who are among those most likely to leave the profession. The legislature further finds that there is a critical need to provide housing assistance for the recruitment and retention of teachers in hard-to-fill positions and in geographically isolated public schools, as determined by the department of education.

The legislature is also aware that the current condition of state-owned teacher housing requires the units undergo extensive repair and renovation, and will require a consistent maintenance program and dedicated oversight and support personnel when the program is transferred from the Hawaii housing finance and development corporation to the department of education.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a teacher housing allowance program to provide housing assistance to teachers employed in public schools in geographically isolated communities and public schools plagued with hard-to-fill teacher vacancies. This Act also appropriates funds for the repair and maintenance of existing teacher housing and requires the department of education to report to the legislature on alternative programs or options for addressing the teacher housing needs in the State.

SECTION 10. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§302A‑ Teacher housing allowance program. (a) The department shall establish a teacher housing allowance program to provide housing allowances to teachers employed to teach at public schools in the State.

(b) The amount of the housing allowance shall be equal to the teacher's full-time equivalence multiplied by the difference between the statewide median cost of housing minus the lesser of either the cost of housing in the school district where the teacher is employed or the cost of housing in the school district in which the teacher resides. For purposes of this section, the difference between the school district's cost of housing and the statewide median shall not exceed fifty per cent of the median.

(c) The cost of the housing for each school district and the statewide median shall be determined every four years based on a standard set of housing specifications and on data reported for the most recent annual period for which data are available. A nationally recognized entity that collects statistically valid housing cost data for federal government agencies and businesses shall be selected by the superintendent, subject to approval by the board, to collect the data. The department shall contract with the entity selected under this subsection for this purpose. For the purposes of this section, the "statewide median cost of housing" means the cost at which there is an equal number of districts with higher housing costs and with lower housing costs.

(d) The department shall administer the teacher housing allowance program and shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for the program's implementation."

SECTION 11. 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 2008-2009 for the teacher housing allowance program established under this Act.

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

SECTION 12. The department of education shall examine existing programs and options for the future, including information on the costs, feasibility, and benefits of each program or option for addressing the teacher housing needs within the State, and submit a report of findings and recommendations to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2009. The programs or options examined shall include but not be limited to a second mortgage loan program or other home loan guarantee programs.

PART VII

SECTION 13. The legislature finds that Hawaii continues to have a critical shortage of trained teachers for the public school system. In order to address the teacher shortage, members of the Hawaii alliance for future teachers initiated the teacher cadet program, which began in the 2004-2005 school year with the participation of five public high schools: Farrington, Kaimuki, Campbell, Kapolei, and Kahuku high schools. By the 2006-2007 school year, the number of participating schools had increased to twelve schools.

For three years, the Hawaii alliance for future teachers, in partnership with the department of education, implemented a course called explorations in education in some public schools in Hawaii. The goal of the Hawaii alliance for future teachers is to develop future teachers for Hawaii public schools by introducing Hawaii high school students to the world of teaching. In three years, approximately two hundred students, mostly seniors, have completed the course.

Members of the first cohort group are presently in their junior year in college. A database system has been established to track the students who have gone through the teacher cadet program while they are in college. The best and brightest students have been recruited to go through a rigorous course in the college of education at the University of Hawaii that addresses standards in the teaching profession.

The content of the course includes learning styles, self-assessment, developmental stages of learning, governance in schools, the history of education in the United States and Hawaii, and realities of the teaching profession, including salaries. An important component of the explorations course, renamed teacher education in 2006, is the field experience where students actually experience teaching and work with teachers and students on a regular basis. The feedback from students and mentor teachers has been overwhelmingly positive in terms of gains made by the students in the classrooms as well as the enriching experience for high school students who are seriously considering teaching as a career.

The purpose of this part is to appropriate funds to the Hawaii teacher cadet program to address the teacher shortage in Hawaii and provide for the expeditious release of funding by removing matching requirements for appropriations made to the Hawaii teacher cadet program.

SECTION 14. Section 302A-401.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§302A-401.5[]] Hawaii teacher cadet program fund. (a) There is established the Hawaii teacher cadet program fund as a separate fund of the Hawaii alliance for future teachers, a Hawaii nonprofit organization. Moneys received from the state, county, or federal government, private contributions of cash or other property, and the income and capital gains earned by the fund shall constitute its assets.

(b) The Hawaii alliance for future teachers shall expend moneys from the fund in the form of either grants to organizations or contracts with private vendors to provide programs for students who possess a high level of academic achievement and the personality traits found in good teachers to consider teaching as a career in accordance with this section.

(c) The fund may receive contributions, grants, endowments, or gifts in cash or otherwise from all sources, including corporations or other businesses, foundations, government, individuals, and other interested parties. The legislature intends that public and private sectors review and investigate all potential funding sources. The State may appropriate moneys to the fund.

(d) The Hawaii alliance for future teachers shall appoint the members of the Hawaii teacher cadet program advisory board, which shall be responsible for:

(1) Soliciting and otherwise raising funds for the fund;

(2) Establishing criteria for the expenditure of funds;

(3) Reviewing grant proposals using criteria established by Hawaii alliance for future teachers; and

(4) Making recommendations for grants and other specific expenditures.

Members of the advisory board shall be stakeholders in Hawaii's public educational system, including students, parents, alumni, principals, community and business leaders, and representatives from the department of education and the department of accounting and general services, who shall be represented on the advisory board.

(e) In managing the moneys in the fund, the Hawaii alliance for future teachers shall exercise ordinary business care and prudence given the facts and circumstances prevailing at the time of action or decision. In doing so, the Hawaii alliance for future teachers shall consider its long- and short-term needs in carrying out its purposes, its present and anticipated financial requirements, expected total return on its investments, price trends, and general economic conditions.

(f) There may be an endowment component of the fund, and the Hawaii alliance for future teachers may accumulate net income and add the same to the principal.

(g) The use of any state moneys may be restricted by the legislation appropriating these moneys to the fund.

(h) The Hawaii alliance for future teachers may expend principal from the fund for the purposes of the fund.

(i) Any organization submitting a proposal to the Hawaii alliance for future teachers for moneys shall meet the following standards at the time of application:

(1) Be a for-profit organization duly registered under the laws of the State, or be a nonprofit organization determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be exempt from the federal income tax, or be an agency of the State or a county;

(2) In the case of a nonprofit organization, have a governing board whose members have no material conflict of interest and serve without compensation;

(3) In the case of an applicant that is not a state or county government agency, have bylaws or policies that describe the manner in which business is conducted and policies that relate to the management of a potential situation involving a conflict of interest;

(4) Have experience with the project or in the program area for which the proposal is being made; and

(5) Be licensed and accredited, as applicable, in accordance with the requirements of federal, state, and county governments.

(j) All proposals submitted to the Hawaii alliance for future teachers for moneys shall be approved by the department for consistency in meeting standards for public schools.

(k) Organizations or agencies to which moneys are awarded shall agree to comply with the following conditions before receiving the award:

(1) Use persons qualified to engage in the activity to be funded;

(2) Comply with the applicable federal, state, and county laws; and

(3) Comply with any other requirements prescribed by the Hawaii alliance for future teachers to ensure adherence by the recipient of the award with applicable federal, state, and county laws and with the purposes of this section.

(l) Chapter 103D shall not apply to organizations or agencies that apply for grants or contracts under this section; provided that the Hawaii alliance for future teachers shall be held accountable for the use of the funds under a contract with the department.

(m) Any contract awarded by the Hawaii alliance for future teachers shall be made with as much competition as is practical to execute its purposes.

(n) The fund shall be audited annually by an independent auditor. The results of each annual audit shall be submitted to the department not later than thirty days from the date the Hawaii alliance for future teachers receives the audit results. In addition, the Hawaii alliance for future teachers shall retain for a period of three years and permit the department, state legislators, and the auditor, or their duly authorized representatives, to inspect and have access to any documents, papers, books, records and other evidence that is pertinent to the fund.

(o) The fund shall not be placed in the state treasury, and the State shall not administer the fund, nor shall the State be liable for the operation or solvency of the fund of the Hawaii alliance for future teachers.

[(p) For every dollar of state moneys granted by the fund to the project, there shall be a minimum of $1 in value matched by the Hawaii alliance for future teachers in cash, or the fair market value of in-kind donations, real property, or any other item of value from federal, state, or county governments, private entities, community-based organizations, non-profit organizations, or individuals.

~~(q)~~] (p) The [~~superintendent of education~~] Hawaii alliance for future teachers shall submit an annual report of the progress of the Hawaii teacher cadet program fund no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session of the legislature."

SECTION 15. 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 2008-2009 for deposit into the Hawaii teacher cadet program fund established under section 302A-401.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

SECTION 16. There is appropriated out of the Hawaii teacher cadet program fund the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009 for the operations of the Hawaii teacher cadet program, including recruiting additional schools for the teacher education course, training of teachers, supporting teachers, mentoring of students, tracking of students for the Hawaii teacher cadet program, and revising and updating the Hawaii teacher education curriculum.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this part.

PART VIII

SECTION 17. The legislature supports initiatives and programs that combat the high teacher attrition rates within the department of education and endeavor to develop and retain high-quality teachers. The legislature finds that teacher induction programs can cut teacher attrition in half and improve teacher effectiveness. Accordingly, research indicates that among beginning teachers nationally, forty-one per cent who do not receive induction support change schools or leave the profession altogether after their first year, compared to only eighteen per cent of teachers who participate in high-quality induction programs. Additionally, for every one dollar invested in a comprehensive teacher induction program, a return of $1.66 is realized after five years.

The purpose of this part is to establish and fund a Hawaii beginning teacher induction pilot program to assist in the development and retention of highly-qualified teachers in the State.

SECTION 18. (a) There is established a Hawaii beginning teacher induction pilot program within the department of education to help improve the retention of new teachers through rigorous, in-depth assistance and support from highly-trained mentors. The department of education shall provide staff as needed for the implementation of the project.

(b) The goals of the Hawaii beginning teacher induction pilot program shall be to:

(1) Provide an effective transition into the teaching career for six hundred first-year and second-year teachers;

(2) Improve the educational performance of pupils through improved training, information, and assistance for six hundred new teachers;

(3) Ensure professional success and retention of six hundred new teachers;

(4) Ensure that fifty mentors provide intensive individualized support and assistance to each of the six hundred participating beginning teachers;

(5) Ensure that an individual induction plan is in place for each of the six hundred beginning teachers and is based on an ongoing assessment of the development of the beginning teachers;

(6) Ensure continuous program improvement through ongoing research, development, and evaluation; and

(7) Increase teacher retention to ninety per cent.

(c) The Hawaii beginning teacher induction pilot program shall use mentors, selected on the basis of understanding of standards, curriculum, assessment, and literacy and mathematics education. There shall be at least sixty full-time equivalent mentor positions to support six hundred beginning teachers. To the extent possible, mentor positions shall be filled by currently employed teachers and may include retired principals and teachers on a full or part-time basis. Each mentor shall attend at least twelve full days of mentor training at a mentor academy, which shall include instruction on the assessment tools, coaching, observation strategies, and analysis of student work. The mentors shall be fully released from their classroom responsibilities during participation in the program. Mentors shall tailor support to the needs of each individual teacher, which may include:

(1) Classroom management;

(2) At least three formal classroom observations with feedback cycles;

(3) Informal observations;

(4) Collection of student data;

(5) Lesson design;

(6) Demonstration lessons;

(7) Resource identification; and

(8) Interaction with colleagues, parents, and administrators.

Each mentor shall conduct weekly one-on-one meetings with each teacher and attend weekly half-day mentor forums providing continuing professional development for mentors.

(d) The Hawaii beginning teacher induction pilot program may also include the following:

(1) A five-day summer institute for beginning teachers, which includes planning for the upcoming school year, familiarization with assessment tools, and a one-day visit to a school to observe exemplary teachers during the first days of the school year;

(2) Two days of release time for teachers to observe exemplary veteran teachers and debrief; and

(3) At least three half-day trainings for school administrators over the course of the school year to learn how to support the program.

(e) The department of education shall provide for program assessment that shall consist of the following:

(1) The New Teacher Center Formative Assessment System to assist teachers and mentors in collecting data that includes classroom profiles, assessment logs, individual learning plans, self-assessment summaries, and analysis of student work;

(2) The Hawaii Continuum of Teacher Development to allow teachers to self-assess along four characteristics, that is, emerging, applying, integrating, and innovating, and to set goals at the beginning of the year to be evaluated at the year's end;

(3) Data collection, including:

(A) Weekly teacher performance measures;

(B) Teacher certification and retention tracking;

(D) Student achievement, including benchmark assessments in grades three to eight; and

(E) Teacher, mentor, and site administrator surveys; and

(4) A final evaluation and written report to assess the effectiveness of the program based on the teacher, mentor, and site administrator surveys, professional development attendance rates, student achievement benchmarks, and teacher retention tracking.

(f) The department of education shall submit interim reports on the Hawaii beginning teacher induction pilot program, including its status, outcomes, findings, and recommendations to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening each regular session from 2009 through 2011, and a final report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2012.

SECTION 19. 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 2008-2009 for the Hawaii beginning teacher induction pilot program established pursuant to this part.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this part.

PART IX

SECTION 20. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 21. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2008; provided that Sections 4, 10, and 14 shall be effective upon approval.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	3252
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII