STAND. COM. REP. NO. 55

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 711

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 711 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EARLY LEARNING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate monies for the Executive Office on Early Learning to enter into contracts with third party providers for family child interaction learning programs as part of a mixed-delivery early learning system to ensure school readiness of Hawaii's children prior to entering kindergarten.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Executive Office on Early Learning, Hawaii Children's Action Network, Ka Ohana O Na Pua, Tūtū and Me Traveling Preschool, and more than two hundred fifty individuals.

     Your Committee finds that family is a vitally important influence in the life of a child.  Active participation by parents in a child's early education is extremely beneficial for the child's learning and development of social competence.  Your Committee further finds that Family Child Interaction Learning is a robust early education model that promotes partnerships between early childhood educators and the families of participating children.  Your Committee additionally finds that this measure has generated a significant amount of public support.

     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. 711 and recommends that it pass Second Reading 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