STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2877

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 2527

       H.D. 2

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Education and Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 2527, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Require the Department of Education to establish a performance management program that includes an evaluation component for teachers and educational officers;

     (2)  Condition the granting of annual increments, longevity step increases, and other incentives for teachers and educational officers upon service with a rating of "effective" or "highly effective" on an annual evaluation; and

     (3)  Require teachers entering the service of the Department of Education for the first time to serve a minimum probationary period of three years.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Governor, Department of Education, University of Hawai‘i System, National Governors Association, Hawaii Business Roundtable, The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Hawai‘i Educational Policy Center, Hui for Excellence in Education, IMUAlliance, Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, and two individuals.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii State Teachers Association and two individuals.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

     Your Committees find that Hawaii's Race to the Top plan establishes clear principles, policy actions, and timetables for changes in polices, practices, and outcomes in areas critical to transforming Hawaii's public education system.  At the time the Race to the Top plan was formulated, it received wide support from government, education, and community leaders, as well as from other education stakeholders.

     Your Committees further find that ensuring educator effectiveness requires a comprehensive approach that sets forth clear expectations for students, aligned systems of support for educators, flexibility for innovation, and a performance-based management system for educational officers, principals, and teachers.  In addition to the Race to the Top plan, measurements and supports to ensure educator effectiveness have been included in all versions of the reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act and are likely to become core requirements for many federal title funds.

     As this measure progresses through the legislative process, your Committees encourage closer examination of the probationary period or tenure requirements for school principals.  As school principals will be active participants in the teacher evaluation process established by this measure, the effectiveness of school principals warrants further discussion.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Judiciary and Labor that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2527, H.D. 2, and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Judiciary and Labor,

____________________________ CLAYTON HEE, Chair

____________________________ JILL TOKUDA, Chair