HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.156         
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO REQUIRE PRIVATE
   PROVIDERS TO OPERATE AFTER-SCHOOL PLUS PROGRAMS.



 1       WHEREAS, since the Spring of 1990, the Department of
 2   Education's (DOE) After-School Plus (A+) Program has increased
 3   the availability of quality after-school care for latchkey
 4   children; and
 5   
 6       WHEREAS, during the 1997-1998 School Year (SY), the A+
 7   Program served about 22,500 students at 177 public school sites
 8   at an approximate cost of $11,000,000; and
 9   
10       WHEREAS, during SY 1997-1998, parents paid the State about
11   $5,000,000 in fees for the A+ Program; and
12   
13       WHEREAS, the Legislative Auditor has repeatedly found that
14   DOE continues to experience operational problems including
15   difficulties with:
16   
17       (1)  Limiting the program to eligible students;
18   
19       (2)  Efficiently staffing the A+ program; and
20   
21       (3)  Enforcing fiscal controls;
22   
23   and
24   
25       WHEREAS, the Legislative Auditor, the DOE's own internal
26   audit, and an independent accounting firm have all found
27   consistent instances of noncompliance with established A+
28   Program policies; and
29   
30       WHEREAS, each individual school principal has been given
31   the discretion by the Superintendent of Education to either
32   operate the A+ Program directly or to contract responsibility
33   to a private provider; and
34   
35       WHEREAS, approximately 70 percent of participating school
36   principals have chosen to operate the A+ Program directly; and

 
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 1       WHEREAS, the Legislative Auditor found a correlation
 2   between adequate program planning and an individual site's
 3   ability to provide all the required A+ Program components; and
 4   
 5       WHEREAS, the Legislative Auditor further found that the
 6   contracted private providers met the policy requirements more
 7   consistently than schools running A+ Programs; and
 8   
 9       WHEREAS, the Legislative Auditor additionally found that
10   DOE's failure to establish clear lines of authority in the A+
11   Program and the lack of formal disciplinary procedures have
12   contributed to DOE's inability to hold staff accountable; now,
13   therefore,
14   
15       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
16   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
17   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that the DOE is requested:
18   
19       (1)  Require private providers to operate A+ Programs; and
20   
21       (2)  Redouble its efforts to maintain effective oversight
22            of the A+ Program;
23   
24   and
25   
26       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
27   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the
28   Board of Education, the Superintendent of Education, and the
29   principals of each participating school.
30 
31 
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33                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________