STAND. COM. REP. NO.  120-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

RE:   H.B. No. 1925

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 1925 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to help provide a more accurate measure of student health and well-being in Hawaii by requiring the administration of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey in odd-numbered years to students in grades six to twelve at each public school, public charter school, and private school in the State.

The Special Education Advisory Council, Planned Parenthood of Hawaii, Hawaii Youth Services Network, the seventeen Community Children's Councils, Hui for Excellence in Education, and Parents for Public Schools supported this measure.  The Department of Education, Department of Health, and Hawaii Public Charter Schools Network provided comments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Requiring that the Youth Risk Behavior Survey be administered only at select public schools, rather than each public school;

     (2)  Clarifying that a student is not required to participate in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey only upon written notification to the school that the student's parent or legal guardian does not give permission for that student to participate;

     (3)  Inserting a blank appropriation for the Department of Education for the administration of the Survey;

     (4)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2014, as a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for consistency; and

     (5)  Making additional technical, nonsubstantive amendments for consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1925, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1925, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

ROY M. TAKUMI, Chair