STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2584

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2470

       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 Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2470, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATION TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to require all public schools and charter schools to provide at least two hundred classroom instructional days per year.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools.  The Office of the Governor, Hawaii State Teachers Association, and Innovations Public Charter School submitted written comments on this measure.  The written comments may be reviewed on the Legislature’s website.

     Your Committee finds that, due to recent teacher furloughs, Hawaii public schools now provide the lowest number of classroom instructional days per year in the nation.  Your Committee finds that this threatens the overall quality of education that Hawaii public schools provide to their students, and it places students at a grave disadvantage when compared against the achievement levels of other public school systems throughout the nation.  Your Committee believes that establishing a mandatory minimum number of days of classroom instruction per school year will reflect the State's commitment to quality education for Hawaii's students.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Adding the equivalent number of instructional hours as an alternative to the minimum required number of days of classroom instruction;

     (2)  Changing the effective date to January 1, 2099, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

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

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2470, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2470, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair