STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2290

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2466

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Education and Human Services and Public Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2466 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to increase opportunities for special needs preschoolers to interact with their non-disabled peers.

     The measure also appropriates an unspecified sum of moneys for this purpose.

     Testimony in support of the measure was submitted by the Department of Education, the Department of Human Services, the Center on Disability Studies, the Hawaii State Teachers Association, Good Beginnings Alliance, and three individuals.

     Your Committees find that the Individuals with Disabilities Act requires that children with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment with children who are not disabled.  Your Committees further find that integrating children with disabilities with non-disabled children can have multiple positive impacts on their abilities to socialize, gain language, motor, and cognitive skills, and improve play skills.  This measure fills the current void by providing opportunities for special needs preschool students to interact with non-disabled preschool students by requiring that the Department of Education include opportunities for special needs preschool students in its quality early education plan. 

     Upon further consideration of the testimony and information provided, your Committees believe that further clarification is necessary to ensure that appropriate special education and related services are provided and to guide the Departments of Education and Human Services on areas to consider in addressing the needs of special needs preschoolers.

     Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Specifying that a special education eligible student may receive special education and related services in certain private preschool programs;

     (2)  Clarifying that the Departments of Education and Human Services should consider increasing and developing methods for increasing the number of eligible recipients of preschool program tuition subsidies to enable all parents, including those of children with disabilities, to access preschool programs offered by the department; and

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Human Services and Public Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2466, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2466, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Human Services and Public Housing,

____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair

____________________________ NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair