SCR142 SD1.DOC

WHEREAS, especially in times of economic downturn when public funding must be channeled toward the most essential services and programs, a determination of the priorities of a public agency can provide meaningful guidance to policy makers and public leaders as they make difficult decisions about which services and programs to fund and not fund; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Education, the Legislature, the Governor, and the general public appear to lack a clear agreed-upon understanding or determination of the Department's core mission and core functions; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Education's lack of a core mission and core functions makes it difficult to distinguish the essential duties and responsibilities of the Department and the public school system from the elements that are beneficial but perhaps not as necessary; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that the Department of Education, in consultation with the Board of Education, should develop or determine its core mission and core functions to more easily justify or assess the need for the programs and services that it provides; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature further finds that in order for the Department of Education to determine its core mission and core functions, the Department requires better information, input, and examples for a suitable process of identifying what its core mission and core functions should be or should include; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to perform research on the core mission and core functions of selected school districts, and to identify the core mission and core functions of these school districts, whether determined through statutory mandates, strategic planning initiatives, public input, or other means; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to submit the research performed pursuant to this concurrent resolution and any findings and recommendations in a report to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2011; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Educational Policy Center is requested to convene a policy group to recommend a suitable process by which the Department of Education may determine its core mission and core functions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it is requested that the policy group consist of the following members:

(1) Two Hawaii teachers who are recipients of the Milken Educator Award appointed by the Director of the Hawaii Educational Policy Center;

(2) Two Hawaii principals who are recipients of the Milken Educator Award appointed by the Director of the Hawaii Educational Policy Center;

(3) One member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(4) One member appointed by the Senate President;

(5) One member appointed by the Governor;

(6) Two members appointed by the Superintendent of Education;

(7) Two members appointed by the Teacher Education Coordinating Committee; and

(8) One member appointed by the Board of Education; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it is requested that the process developed by the policy group also allow the Department of Education to rank or classify the Department's programs and services by the extent to which those programs and services accomplish the Department's determined core mission and core functions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the policy group is requested to submit its findings and recommendations, including any suggested legislation, in a separate report to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2011; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Education, and the Chairperson of the Teacher Education Coordinating Committee.

Report Title:

Education; Core Mission and Functions

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	142
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII