STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2283
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 2663
S.D. 1
Honorable Colleen Hanabusa
President of the Senate
Twenty-Fourth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2008
State of Hawaii
Madam:
Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2663 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII TEACHER STANDARDS BOARD,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to make changes to the membership, nomination process, and responsibilities of and to provide necessary funding for increased information accessibility for the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board.
Testimony in support of the measure was submitted by the University of Hawaii System, the Hawaii State Teachers Association, and the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board. Testimony in opposition of the measure was submitted by the Office of the Governor and one individual.
Your Committee finds that the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board is responsible for licensing and regulating teachers and approving teacher preparation programs in the State. Your Committee further finds that several issues relating to the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board and its operations require consideration and modification. Over the past year, the nomination process for membership on the Hawaii Teachers Standards Board has been called into question. The process must provide for adequate and appropriate representation, which requires changes to the existing law.
Additionally, the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board has been working toward improving the quality and quantity of data accessible to parties in order to increase teacher quality. An electronic licensing system that is capable of interfacing with public and private educational institutions in Hawaii, as well as the Department of Education, is being developed; however, funding is required to support the free interchange of information among participating organizations. Your Committees believe that increased accountability by the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board is also necessary for the improvement and maintenance of teacher quality in the State.
This measure addressed the foregoing issues by specifying that the private and public school teacher and administrator representative organizations shall be responsible for providing recommendations for nomination to the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board. This measure also provides funding to support data or information management efforts of the Board and increases reporting requirements to include income and expenditure information and annual summary reports by the Board to the Legislature. Your Committee received testimony that indicated that input for recommendations for nominations to the Board should also be provided to the Governor by professional organizations, and not only unions, representative of teachers and school administrators. Your Committee determines that this inclusion, along with the other provisions of this measure will improve the operations of the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board and, ultimately, the teacher workforce in the State.
Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Including additional language to clarify the measure's purpose;
(2) Specifying that national professional organizations that represent teachers and school administrators with a local chapter in Hawaii shall also be responsible for providing recommendations for nomination to the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board to the Governor; and
(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for purposes of clarity and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2663, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2663, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,
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____________________________ NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair |
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