Bill Text: HI HR78 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Auditor; Study; Responsible Special Education Funding; Department of Education

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-04-05 - The committee(s) on FIN recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HR78 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-HR78-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	78
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the office of the auditor to conduct a study on the responsible expenditure of special education funds by the department of education.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 and state law require the Department of Education to provide a free appropriate public education, which includes a continuum of services, to students who are eligible for special education and related services; and

 

     WHEREAS, special education may include but is not limited to academic services, speech-language services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, counseling services, and parent education -- all at no cost to parents; and

 

     WHEREAS, special education services are made available to any student aged three to 22 who demonstrates a need for specially designed instruction, after an evaluation to determine the nature and extent of the student's needs; and

 

WHEREAS, if a student is found eligible to receive a special education, services are provided to the student through an Individualized Education Program, which is a written statement about the educational program for a child with a disability, serves as a management tool to ensure that the child receives the needed special education and related services, and serves as an evaluation device when used to determine the extent of the child's progress toward accomplishing projected goals; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Education's operating budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year is $1.95 billion, with $1.6 billion -- or approximately 82 percent -- coming from the State's general fund; and

WHEREAS, Program ID No. EDN 150, which supports special education students who may require or have an Individualized Education Plan, receives approximately $351,500,000, or 23 percent of the operating budget; and

 

     WHEREAS, public moneys, particularly a sum of public moneys as large as that contained in Program ID No. EDN 150, must be stewarded and expended carefully and responsibly; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature has grave concerns about the expenditure of special education funds by the Department of Education; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, that the Office of the Auditor is requested to conduct a study on the responsible expenditure of special education funds by the Department of Education; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of the Auditor's study include the possibility of maximizing the use of Medicaid funds to help fund special education services; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of the Auditor is requested to submit its study to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2017; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Acting Auditor and Superintendent of Education.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Auditor; Study; Responsible Special Education Funding; Department of Education