SB2292.DOC

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2292
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to charter schools.

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

SECTION 1. Following the 2009 legislative session, the chairs of the senate committee on economic development and technology and the house committee on economic revitalization, business and military affairs convened a technology caucus work group to bring together industry stakeholders and interested policymakers to develop recommendations for legislation to enhance Hawaii's struggling economy. The work group provided a forum to review the current status of Hawaii's science/technology industry, identify state or county actions that impede long-term growth and expansion of technology companies, and develop recommendations to address these impediments. The work group also identified best practices supporting the growth and development of science/technology industries in other jurisdictions to aid in developing proposed suggestions for future legislation.

In 2007, the legislature strongly endorsed initiatives related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, and creative media education as the most practical, hands-on means of increasing students' interest in pursuing math/science and technology careers. Emphasizing the need to build upon solid performance outcomes, the legislature enacted Act 111 and Act 271, Session Laws of Hawaii 2007, to expand existing and new STEM initiatives in Hawaii's public schools.

The initial legislative targets for 2007-2008 were to double the existing forty-eight programs within public schools to achieve a level of eighty-four school initiatives, and the number of schools participating in STEM initiatives far exceeded the 2008 target.

The legislature further finds that Hawaii's public schools now have an opportunity to continue this expansion through the $4,350,000,000 Race to the Top Fund, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the largest-ever federal competitive investment in school reform. It will reward states for past accomplishments, create incentives for future improvements, and challenge states to create comprehensive strategies for addressing the four central areas of reform that will drive school improvement:

(1) Adopting internationally benchmarked standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the workplace;

(2) Recruiting, developing, retaining, and rewarding effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most;

(3) Building data systems that measure student success and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction; and

(4) Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.

Awards will go to states that are leading the way with ambitious yet achievable plans for implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive education reform in these four areas. Applications for the first of two rounds of competitions for the grants are due January 19, 2010, and the winners of the first round of funding will be notified by April 2010. Applications for the second round will be due June 1, 2010, with the announcement of all winners being made by September 2010.

Hawaii's public charter schools offer a unique opportunity to demonstrate the State's commitment to the goals of the Race to the Top Fund. Currently, there are thirty-one public charter schools, five of which are conversion charter schools. These schools offer innovative learning experiences and the flexibility necessary to achieve both the State's commitment to STEM education, and the goals of the Race to the Top Fund.

The purpose of this Act is to implement recommendations of the technology caucus work group by allowing for the additional expansion of Hawaii's public charter schools by deleting the limit on the number of conversion charter schools.

SECTION 2. Section 302B-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302B‑4 Limits on charter schools. The panel may authorize one new start-up charter school for each existing start-up charter school that has received a three-year or longer accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges or a comparable accreditation authority as determined by the panel, or for each start-up charter school whose charter is revoked. [~~The total number of conversion charter schools authorized by the panel shall not exceed twenty-five.~~]"

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________