STAND. COM. REP. NO. 529

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1340

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 1340 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PRACTICE OF BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Increase the number of competent personnel available to support public school students by expanding the exemption from the behavior analyst licensing requirements for teachers working in collaboration with a licensed behavior analyst or licensed psychologist; and

(2) Remove the exemption from the behavior analyst licensing requirements for direct support workers and allow a registered behavior technician who is under the direction of a licensed psychologist to implement applied behavioral analysis services.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Department of Education, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Hawaii State Teachers Association, and Special Education Advisory Council. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawai‘i Association for Behavior Analysis, Hawaii Disability Rights Center, and Together For Our Keiki.

Your Committee finds that the Department of Education is finding it increasingly difficult to attract and retain qualified licensed behavior analysts for the public school system. A large portion of the applied behavioral analysis services provided must be contracted through a statewide contract at a high cost. A cost-effective option to meet this shortage of behavior analysts would be to utilize qualified and competent personnel who may be able to implement, but not design, applied behavioral analysis services in direct collaboration with a licensed behavior analyst or a licensed psychologist. This measure makes this solution possible, as appropriate interventions are part of a classroom teacher's duties and scope of practice.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1340, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1340, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,

________________________________

JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair