STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2335

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2782

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Education and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2782 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TEACHERS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Establish the Educational Assistant Certification Incentive Program to enable educational assistants who have been working in hard-to-fill schools to attain teacher certification and then commit to return to those schools for a certain period of time; and

     (2)  Appropriate funds for alternate teacher route contracts for teachers whose degrees are not in the field of education.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education, State Public Charter School Commission, University of Hawai‘i System, University of Hawai‘i College of Education, Hawai‘i Teacher Standards Board, Hawaii State Teachers Association, and two individuals.

     Your Committees find that the Department of Education has struggled to place teachers in schools having high turnover rates or determined as hard-to-fill.  One potential option is to help current educational assistants achieve the necessary certification to be classified as teachers.  The cost of enrollment in certification programs is a substantial obstacle for educational assistants seeking teacher licensure.  This measure will provide educational assistants with greater opportunities to become licensed.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2782 and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health,

________________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair

________________________________ MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair