STAND. COM. REP. NO. 320-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: H.B. No. 2456

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 2456 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SAFETY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Require and appropriate funds to the Department of Education to assign dedicated security personnel to serve at public elementary schools and public facilities that provide prekindergarten care; and

(2) Require the Department of Education to seek federal grants to hire school resource officers and registered guards.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one individual. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii State Teachers Association and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Education and Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committee finds that in recent years, several disturbing incidents have occurred relating to school safety. Your Committee further finds that elementary school students often lack the capacity to properly assess and identify the potential dangers posed by the presence of individuals who are not authorized to be present on a school's campus. This measure will ensure that children can learn in safe environments by providing security that will help deter the presence of unauthorized individuals from those environments.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Including school safety and security officers and school security attendants among the security personnel that the Department of Education shall assign to public elementary schools and public facilities that provide prekindergarten care;

(2) Specifying that the Department of Education shall also seek federal grants to hire school safety and security officers and school security attendants;

(3) Specifying that the appropriation to the Department of Education shall also be used for the provision of school safety and security officers and school security attendants at public elementary schools and state prekindergarten programs;

(4) Changing its effective date to July 1, 2050; and

(5) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

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. 2456, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2456, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

____________________________

JUSTIN H. WOODSON, Chair