STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1489

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 904

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 904, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHARTER SCHOOLS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to repeal the requirement for the Board of Education to annually report to the Legislature, Governor, and the public on public charter schools.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Board of Education.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the State Public Charter School Commission.

Your Committee finds that the State Public Charter School Commission (Commission) oversees the operations of public charter schools statewide. However, the Commission is required to report annually on items that the Board of Education also has a statutory mandate to report to the Legislature. Therefore, this measure, in its current form, would repeal duplicative reporting requirements to effectively streamline operations for the Commission and the Board of Education.

Your Committee notes, however, that while the existing reporting process is duplicative of the work completed by the Board of Education and the Commission, there is a continued need for an annual report submitted to the Legislature, Governor, and the public to ensure transparency regarding the Commission's operations. According to the Board of Education and the Commission at your Committee's public hearing on this measure, both agencies are amenable to a modified reporting process that will empower the Board of Education to be made aware of charter school operations while ensuring timely completion of the report by the Commission. Therefore, amendments to this measure are necessary to reflect this consensus language.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Restoring existing statutory language requiring an annual report by the Board of Education;

(2) Changing references from "board" to "commission" to require the State Public Charter School Commission to complete the annual report;

(3) Inserting language that requires the Board of Education to review and approve the State Public Charter School Commission's annual report before submitting the report to the Governor, Legislature, and the public;

(4) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and

(5) 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 Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 904, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 904, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

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MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair