Bill Text: HI SR61 | 2012 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Education; Act 51, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004; Report
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2012-06-22 - (S) Certified copies of resolutions sent, 06-19-12. [SR61 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2012-SR61-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.R. NO. |
61 |
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TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO REVIEW AND EVALUATE COMPLIANCE WITH AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE REINVENTING EDUCATION ACT OF 2004, AS AMENDED.
WHEREAS, in 2004, the Legislature passed the Reinventing Education Act, also known as Act 51, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004 (Act 51); and
WHEREAS, the intent of Act 51 was to decentralize decision making at the Department of Education and empower complex- and school-level staff and administrators, as well as to encourage greater community involvement, and provide better professional development, enhanced technology, and other education resources to the Department of Education; and
WHEREAS, the main elements of Act 51 include:
(1) Establishing a weighted student formula;
(2) Providing additional information technology to schools;
(3) Empowering school principals through the Hawaii principals academy and other means;
(4) Strengthening community involvement through school community councils and parent-community networking centers;
(5) Providing schools with more mathematics textbooks;
(6) Lowering class size in kindergarten, grade one, and grade two;
(7) Providing full-time, year-round, high school student activity coordinators;
(8) Providing support to students who need additional help to succeed in school;
(9) Establishing a national board certification incentive program for teachers;
(10) Enhancing teacher education;
(11) Reducing the bureaucracy that hampers the effectiveness of the Department of Education;
(12) Improving the educational accountability system; and
(13) Requiring Board of Education members to hold community meetings in their districts; and
WHEREAS, it has been over seven years since Act 51 was enacted and sufficient time has passed for the outcomes of the changes made by Act 51 to be evaluated; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, that the Board of Education and Department of Education are requested to review and evaluate compliance with Act 51, as amended, and the effectiveness of Act 51, as amended, in achieving the State's educational goals, and to make recommendations to the Legislature as to any necessary changes or modifications; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in conducting its examination and assessment of Act 51, the Board of Education and Department of Education are requested to engage key stakeholder groups, including but not limited to:
(1) Parents of public school students;
(2) Public school teachers;
(3) Educational officers;
(4) The Hawaii Government Employees Association; and
(5) The Hawaii State Teachers Association; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2013, the Board of Education and Department of Education are requested to report to the Legislature:
(1) The status of implementation of principal performance contracts;
(2) Their findings and recommendations as to their assessment and study of the weighted student formula; and
(3) An outline and timeline of the Board of Education and Department of Education's remaining objectives in evaluating Act 51; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chairperson of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Education, President of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, and President of the Hawaii State Teachers Association.
Education; Act 51, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004; Report
