STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3022

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2162

H.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 2162, H.D. 1, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Clarify that funds for teacher incentives, bonuses, and other compensation required by statute or collective bargaining shall not be paid out of a charter school's facilities funding or per-pupil funds;

(2) Beginning with fiscal year 2018-2019, require that the funding request for teacher incentives, bonuses, and other compensation required by statute or collective bargaining shall be separate line items in the budget; and

(3) Appropriate funds for teacher bonuses for hard-to-fill placement incentives and National Board certified teacher incentives for charter school teachers.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, State Public Charter School Commission, Hawai‘i Teacher Standards Board, Kualapu‘u School Public Conversion Charter, Hawaii State Teachers Association, Hawaii Public Charter Schools Network, and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committee finds that a major component in the success of public charter schools is the dedication of their administrators, staff, and teachers in creating an environment of educational excellence. Similar to their counterparts within public schools established and maintained by the Department of Education, teachers at public charter schools who have earned National Board certification or committed to work at schools in a location determined by the Department of Education as hard-to-fill are entitled to receive incentive bonuses. However, public charter schools have had to pay incentive bonuses out of each individual school's per-pupil funds, a cost not calculated into the monies provided each year by the State. This measure ensures that public charter school teachers are given the opportunity for incentive bonuses without impacting public charter school budgets.

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 H.B. No. 2162, H.D. 1, 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,

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MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair