Bill Text: HI SB497 | 2010 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Hawaii Teacher Standards Board

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2009-05-11 - Carried over to 2010 Regular Session. [SB497 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-SB497-Amended.html

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STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1189

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

 

RE:   S.B. No. 497

      S.D. 1

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Education and Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred S.B. No. 497, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII TEACHER STANDARDS BOARD,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board (HTSB) as the State's authority on teacher licensing and standards, by:

 

     (1)  Establishing an advisory committee to provide oversight of HTSB;

 

     (2)  Authorizing HTSB to:

 

          (A)  Determine the manner by which fees are collected;

 

          (B)  Adopt, amend, repeal, or suspend its policies and standards; and

 

          (C)  Appoint an executive director;

 

     (3)  Making permanent HTSB's authority to temporarily suspend its rules if extenuating circumstances exist;

 

     (4)  Making permanent HTSB's authority to amend licensing-related fees and set or amend other charges; and

 

     (5)  Authorizing and appropriating funds for HTSB to coordinate the creation of a data interface network consisting of teacher education institutions and the Department of Education to support the free interchange of information valuable to all of the participating organizations.

 

     The Hawaii Association of Independent Schools supported the intent of this bill.  The Board of Education, Hawaii State Teachers Association, and several concerned individuals opposed this measure.  HTSB and several concerned individuals offered comments.

 

     Your Committees have amended this bill by:

 

     (1)  Deleting the provisions that establish an advisory committee;

 

     (2)  Adding two members to HTSB, to be appointed from among the members of the Hawaii Business Roundtable, Hawaii P-20 Council, or Workforce Development Council;

 

     (3)  Specifying that all licenses issued by HTSB shall be valid for the fields and levels specified on the licenses, rather than just the fields;

 

     (4)  Allowing HTSB, at its discretion through June 30, 2010, to grant additional license extensions, and clarifying that any previously-approved extensions shall be deemed valid as issued;

 

     (5)  Deleting the provisions that authorize and appropriate funds for HTSB to coordinate the creation of a data interface network; and

 

     (6)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Labor & Public Employment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 497, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 497, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Labor & Public Employment,

 

 

____________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair		____________________________ ROY TAKUMI, Chair