STAND. COM. REP. NO.  831

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2015

RE:   H.B. No. 819

      H.D. 2

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 819, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BULLYING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to protect youth in Hawaii from bullying by:

(1)  Requiring all youth-serving agencies and grantees of the State to adopt, enforce, and report on anti-bullying policies and procedures;

(2)  Prohibiting a public charter school from discriminating against a student or limiting admission to a student based on gender identity or expression; and

(3)  Establishing and funding a Bullying Prevention Task Force within the Department of Education.

The Honolulu Police Department, Hawaii State Teachers Association, Hawaii Youth Services Network, Hawaii State Democratic Women's Caucus, Best Buddies Hawaii, Human Rights Campaign, Democratic Party of Hawaii, Office of LGBT Student Services at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Equality Hawaii, IMUAlliance, GLSEN Hawaii, Rainbow Family 808, GLBT Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, MoveOn.org Honolulu Council, and numerous concerned individuals testified in support of this measure.  The Hawaii Civil Rights Commission testified in support and recommended an amendment.  The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii testified in support and provided comments.  The Special Education Advisory Council supported the intent of this measure and provided recommendations.  The Department of Education and the State Council on Developmental Disabilities supported the intent of this measure and provided comments.  The State Public Charter School Commission and several concerned individuals provided comments.     

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1)  Clarifying the definition of bullying;

(2)  Clarifying that this measure is not intended to apply to

private schools, except to the extent that they receive state funding;

(3)  Removing repetitive language regarding the enforcement of the bullying prevention policy on an agency or grantee's property;

(4)  Providing that the bully prevention policy requirements set forth are a minimum standard;

(5)  Requiring that each agency or grantee inform youth about their right to be free from bullying and available remedies in age appropriate language;

(6)  Adding representatives from the Judiciary and law enforcement to the task force;

(7)  Removing reference to Chapter 84, Hawaii Revised Statutes, so that the task force falls under regular provisions regarding task force members;

(8)  Amending anti-discrimination requirements for public charter schools to align with requirements for bullying prevention policies; and

(9)  Making technical and stylistic non-substantive changes.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 819, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 819, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair