STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2229

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2594

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2594 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Establish the student loan subsidy program for teachers who teach in special education, vocational education, technical education, or career pathway programs;

     (2)  Establish a student loan subsidy program special fund; and

     (3)  Appropriate funds to the program.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii State Teachers Association and two individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Education and Department of Budget and Finance.

     Your Committee finds that recruiting and retaining teachers in Hawaii's public schools is a challenge due to the high cost of living in the State.  High rates of turnover among teachers frequently forces schools to rely on long-term substitute teachers, emergency hires, or other stopgap measures.  Special education and vocational education teachers are two of the highest priority areas of shortage.  Your Committee further finds that teachers in Hawaii often owe considerable amounts of debt from student loans.  The proposed loan subsidy program proposed in this measure could provide an incentive for teachers to remain in Hawaii's public schools.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and 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 S.B. No. 2594, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2594, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________

MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair