STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1565

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 751

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 751, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

Hawai'i Teacher Standards Board

G.M. No. 751

VOLETTA NOE NOE TOM, for a term to expire 6-30-2016,

begs leave to report as follows:

     Your Committee has reviewed the personal history, resume, and statement submitted by the nominee and finds Voletta Noe Noe Tom to possess the requisite qualifications to be nominated to the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Voletta Noe Noe Tom from the Governor, Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, Hawai‘i P-20 Partnerships for Education, and three individuals.

     Your Committee finds that Voletta Noe Noe Tom is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools.  She went on to receive a Bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

     Ms. Tom served for over thirty years with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) in numerous roles, including Deputy Director, Executive Officer, Licensing Administrator, and Investigator and Liaison Officer.

     Upon her retirement from the DCCA, Ms. Tom served as an independent consultant to the Department of Education in its 2010 application to the United States Department of Education for the Race to the Top Grant.  She continues to serve the Department of Education on a temporary basis, assisting the Department with its administrative rules process and serving as its legislative liaison during the 2013 Regular Session.

     Ms. Tom currently sits as a member of the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board and testified that her goal continues to be to streamline the licensing process and make the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board self-sufficient.  Ms. Tom further testified that she believes that the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board has made great strides in improving its licensing procedures, communicating with its constituents, and engaging stakeholder input and recommendations.

     Ms. Tom's long and extensive background with regulating various industries will continue to provide her with a unique perspective as a member of the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board and will assist the Board in meeting its mission of licensing quality teachers in the State.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

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

____________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair