STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2768

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2070

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2070, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to lay the foundation to implement instruction on digital citizenship and media literacy at public schools and charter schools.

Specifically, this measure requires the Department of Education to:

(1) Convene an advisory committee to make recommendations regarding implementing digital citizenship and media literacy instruction at public schools, including charter schools and Hawaiian language immersion schools;

(2) Develop a plan based upon the recommendations made by the advisory committee; and

(3) Submit a report to the Legislature on the plan and a timeline for implementing the plan.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the State Public Charter School Commission; Media Literacy Now; OCC Legislative Priorities Committee, Democratic Party of Hawaii; and two individuals.

Your Committee finds that media literacy is an essential skill for learning about and interacting with the digital world. Preparing children to use technology in a responsible manner will help to ensure that they become positive and productive digital citizens.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Recasting the provisions in section 2 of the measure as a session law due to the temporary nature of the requirements;

(2) Changing the order of the subsections in section 2 to read chronologically;

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

(4) Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2070, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2070, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair