STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2198

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2083

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 S.B. No. 2083 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds for after-school programs at Kalanianaole Elementary and Intermediate School, Kapaa Middle School, Konawaena Middle School, and Waimea Canyon Middle School.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai‘i Afterschool Alliance, Hawai‘i Arts Alliance, Hawaii Youth Services Network, Native Hawaiian Education Council, Special Education Advisory Council, Parents and Children Together, American Heart Association, and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Education.

Your Committee finds that funding for after-school programs is critical for intermediate and middle school students, especially for schools that have a high number of students of Native Hawaiian background, who are being arrested at a higher rate than any other ethnic background. Furthermore, approximately half of first time juvenile arrests are in the middle and intermediate school age group, and most of the behaviors resulting in arrest occur between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Your Committee further finds that quality after-school programs inspire and motivate children to learn, support children's social and emotional growth, and help raise academic achievement. A study of outcomes associated with participation in after-school programs found that students regularly participating in after-school programs during their elementary school years showed a variety of gains, including narrowing the math achievement gap at grade five between high- and low-income students, improving work habits and self-sufficiency, and reducing the number of school absences. By funding after-school programs at intermediate and middle schools that have a high number of Native Hawaiian students, students will have access to expanded learning opportunities through a range of enrichment and learning activities in various subjects, such as the arts, language, technology, and civic engagement.

Your Committee has heard the testimony of the Department of Education expressing concerns about ensuring that, if this measure were to pass, any appropriated funds from the Legislature for after-school programs would be alongside existing federal funds for UPLINK, an after-school program for middle-school aged children in support of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families federal grant. Additionally, the Department of Education identified other costs for consideration for the after-school programs, including program administration, monitoring, technical assistance, and evaluation. Your Committee finds that these issues raise concerns that merit further consideration and requests that your Committee on Ways and Means further examine those issues and concerns raised by the Department of Education on this measure.

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. 2083 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