STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2332

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2590

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Education and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2590 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to require the Department of Education to consider making public school facilities available to charter schools when public schools are closed.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by three state agencies and two organizations.  Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee finds that, when the Department of Education closes non-charter public schools due to financial constraints or other reasons, those available spaces are school-safe and ready for use by public charter schools, and do not require the charter schools to conduct expensive conversion of non-school facilities to add food service facilities, libraries, health rooms, and libraries.  Additionally, the amendments proposed in this measure will allow charter schools to expend their much-needed funds on curriculum and learning, rather than on facility-related costs.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Specifically allowing all or portions of the facilities to be used;

     (2)  Requiring the Department of Education to consider use of all or portions of the facilities to be used for other educational purposes, if no charter school requests such use or if no charter school is an appropriate candidate for such use;

     (3)  Directing the Charter School Review Panel to compile a prioritized list of charter schools wishing to use the public school facilities;

     (4)  Directing the Department of Education to adopt rules creating a priority list for evaluating the order in which the facilities of the public school may be offered for use and occupancy for educational purposes, and the criteria to be used by the Department for evaluating an appropriate use for the facilities; and

     (5)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for style and consistency purposes.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education and Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2590, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2590, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education and Housing,

____________________________

NORMAN SAKAMOTO, Chair