STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1214-16

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2016

RE:   S.B. No. 2782

      S.D. 1

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2782, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TEACHERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to increase the number of teachers in Hawaii by:

     (1)  Creating an Educational Assistant Certification Incentive Program that provides tuition reimbursement to help educational assistants employed by the Department of Education achieve necessary teacher certification if they meet certain criteria and commit to teaching in a hard-to-fill school for three years;

     (2)  Appropriating funds for the Educational Assistant Certification Incentive Program; and

     (3)  Appropriating funds for alternate teacher route contracts.

The Department of Education, State Public Charter School Commission, University of Hawaii, Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, Hui for Excellence in Education, Hawaii Government Employees Association, and a concerned individual supported this measure.  The Hawaii State Teachers Association supported the measure with amendments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Requiring, as an additional condition of eligibility for the Educational Assistant Certification Incentive Program, that an educational assistant must have achieved full licensure in the subject area, as required by the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, within two years of being accepted into the Program;

     (2)  Specifying, as an additional requirement of the Educational Assistant Certification Incentive Program, that individuals accepted into the Program must commit to teaching in a hard-to-fill subject area for three consecutive years;

     (3)  Deleting the requirement that the Department of Education must adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to implement the Educational Assistant Certification Incentive Program;

     (4)  Changing the term "alternate teacher route contracts" to "alternate teacher route programs"; and

     (5)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     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. 2782, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2782, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

ROY M. TAKUMI, Chair