STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2097

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2521

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. 2521 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SPECIAL EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Department of Education to provide up to $1,690 to each special education classroom teacher for instructional materials and equipment.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education; Special Education Advisory Council; Hawaii State Teachers Association; United Public Workers, AFSCME, Local 646, AFL-CIO; Civic Education Council; IMUAlliance; and twelve individuals.

Your Committee finds that special education services, including academic, speech-language, psychological, physical and occupational, and counseling accommodations, meet the unique needs of students with disabilities. Governed by federal and state law, special education services are available to eligible students between three and twenty-two years of age who demonstrate a need for specially designed instruction. However, based on statewide assessments, most of the State's public school students with individualized education programs are performing below grade level in reading and mathematics. Therefore, investing in additional resources for special education teachers and classrooms may serve as a catalyst in closing the achievement gap between special needs students and their general education peers.

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. 2521 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