STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1288-08

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2008

RE:   S.B. No. 3252

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Education and Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred S.B. No. 3252, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TEACHERS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to address the teacher shortage crisis in the state and improve teacher recruitment and retention by, among other things:

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

     (2)  Providing teachers with full service credit for prior teaching experience up to a maximum of 10 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, and any teacher who meets all the requirements of NCLB;

     (3)  For National Board Certified teachers, providing full service credit equal to the teacher's total number of years of teaching experience;

     (4)  Appropriating funds for the establishment of professional development schools for Hawaii public school teachers;

     (5)  Appropriating funds to complex areas for academic coaches, teacher professional development, and other programs or initiatives to improve teacher retention;

     (6)  Establishing a teacher housing allowance program to provide housing assistance to teachers;

     (7)  Appropriating funds for the Hawaii Teacher Cadet Program for its efforts toward teacher recruitment and retention; and

     (8)  Appropriating funds to establish the Hawaii Beginning Teacher Induction Pilot Program to improve the retention of new teachers through rigorous, in-depth assistance and support from highly-trained mentors.

     The Department of Education, University of Hawaii College of Education, Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, Hawaii Educational Policy Center, Hawaii State Teachers Association, and several concerned individuals testified in support of this bill.

     Your Committees have amended this bill by:

     (1)  Specifying that schools that were selected previously shall receive first consideration for the allocation of funds for professional development schools;

     (2)  Except for the purpose section, reporting requirement, and the appropriation, deleting provisions relating to the establishment of the Hawaii Beginning Teacher Induction Pilot Program and making conforming amendments to the remaining sections, as a similar program was created through Act 159, Session Laws of Hawaii 2005; and

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

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Labor & Public Employment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3252, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3252, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Labor & Public Employment,

____________________________ ALEX M. SONSON, Chair

____________________________ ROY TAKUMI, Chair