STAND. COM. REP. NO. 830

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 199

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred S.B. No. 199 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TEACHER INCENTIVES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to provide for the funding of incentives for public charter school teachers.

     Specifically, the measure:

     (1)  Prohibits the use of a charter school's facilities funding or per-pupil funds to pay for teacher incentives and bonuses;

     (2)  Beginning with fiscal year 2018-2019, requires the funding request for teacher incentives and bonuses to be a separate line item in the annual state budget act; and

     (3)  Appropriates moneys for public charter school teacher bonuses and incentives for fiscal year 2017-2018.

     The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission, Hawaii State Teachers Association, and Kamehameha Schools submitted written comments in support of this measure.  The Department of Budget and Finance submitted written comments on this measure.

     Your Committees find that the success of public charter schools depends in part on the dedication of their teachers.  Like the teachers at schools established and maintained by the Department of Education, teachers at public charter schools who have earned National Board certification or who teach at hard-to-fill schools are entitled to receive incentive bonuses.  However, your Committees also find that while teachers at schools established and maintained by the Department of Education receive incentive bonuses from a designated fund, public charter school teachers are paid incentive bonuses out of each individual charter school's per-pupil funds.  The costs of the incentives are not calculated into the moneys the State provides for per-pupil funds.  The result is that charter school administrators often must choose between hiring and retaining high-quality teachers and balancing their budgets.  Your Committees believe that this measure will ensure a fair allocation of funds meant to ultimately benefit students who attend schools established and maintained by the Department of Education and students who attend public charter schools.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by changing its effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary and Labor that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 199, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 199, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary and Labor,

________________________________ GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair

________________________________ JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair