CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 109

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2011

RE:    S.B. No. 1174

       S.D. 2

       H.D. 1

       C.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sirs:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 1174, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHARTER SCHOOLS,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this measure is to:

     (1)  Require the Charter School Administrative Office to include with its budget and capital improvement projects request, a detailed explanation of the formula used for needs-based facilities funding requests and a funding request breakdown by school;

     (2)  Re-establish the Charter Schools Facilities Funding Task Force and require the task force to develop a needs-based facilities funding formula, process, or both, for charter schools;

     (3)  Permit charter schools to appeal a denial of reauthorization by the Charter School Review Panel to the Board of Education;

     (4)  Require charter schools and their local school boards to develop internal policies and procedures consistent with ethical standards of conduct;

     (5)  Change the frequency of each charter school's evaluation to every six years from every five years after the initial evaluation; and

     (6)  Establish the Task Force on Charter School Governance, Accountability, and Authority to provide clarity to the relationships, responsibilities, and lines of accountability and authority among stakeholders of the charter school system.

     Your Committee on Conference finds that as charter schools continue to become a visible component of the education system in Hawaii, it is imperative to clarify the duties and responsibilities of the Charter School Review Panel and the local school boards to ensure that all charter schools are using funds effectively and transparently while meeting their educational goals.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting the language that re-established the Charter Schools Facilities Funding Task Force;

     (2)  Adding language to require local school boards to have oversight over charter schools and to task the Charter School Review Panel with ensuring that local school boards are fulfilling their oversight responsibilities;

     (3)  Adding language to give the Charter School Review Panel the power to conduct special monitoring of and temporarily withhold an allocation from a charter school for noncompliance issues;

     (4)  Requiring that all notices and agendas for local school board meetings be posted on the Charter School Administrative Office's internet website;

     (5)  Requiring local school boards to maintain a list of the names and contact information of current local school board members and officers and post the information on the Charter School Administrative Office's internet website;

     (6)  Specifying that the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education and the Chair of the House Committee on Education, or their designees, shall serve as co-chairs of the Task Force on Charter School Governance, Accountability, and Authority;

     (7)  Amending the membership of the Task Force on Charter School Governance, Accountability, and Authority, by removing the member from a start-up charter school and adding the Executive Director of the Hawaii Charter Schools Network, or the Executive Director's designee;

     (8)  Clarifying that the Task Force on Charter School Governance, Accountability, and Authority shall also:

          (A)  Identify oversight and monitoring responsibilities of the Charter School Review Panel, the Charter School Administrative Office, and the local school boards and develop a process for enforcement; and

          (B)  Discuss funding-related issues, including but not limited to appropriate funding levels for the Charter School Administrative Office; and

     (9)  Making this measure effective upon approval.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1174, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1174, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ ROY TAKUMI, Co-Chair	____________________________ JILL TOKUDA, Chair
____________________________ MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Co-Chair	____________________________ MICHELLE KIDANI, Co-Chair