STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3041

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 2376

       H.D. 3

       S.D. 2

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations, to which was referred H.B. No. 2376, H.D. 3, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO THE HAWAII CONSTITUTION RELATING TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to amend the Hawaii State Constitution to provide for a Board of Education (Board) whose voting members will be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, from pools of qualified candidates presented to the Governor by the Board of Education Candidate Nomination Commission.

     Written comments in support of the measure were submitted by one private organization and one individual.  Written comments in opposition to the measure were submitted by the Administration and the Board.  Written comments presented to your Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee finds that, currently, the Board is tasked with the responsibility for the planning and policymaking for public schools within the State.  These policies include minimum instruction time; criteria for hiring, licensing, training, evaluating, and rewarding teachers and principals; standards, assessments, and curriculum; and the manner in which resources are distributed among schools.  These responsibilities are immense, particularly during times such as the present when resources for the State are limited.  Changing the Board from an elected board to an appointed board may result in more cohesive decisionmaking among the interested stakeholders to resolve these difficulties.

     Your Committee notes, however, that comments received also expressed the dual concerns of the accountability and the independence of the Board, should members of the Board be appointed by the Governor rather than elected.  Further, the process of selecting Board members may become more opaque as prospective members would be initially selected by the Board of Education Candidate Nomination Commission.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion regarding these concerns.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2376, H.D. 3, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2376, H.D. 3, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations,

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair