209             
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO DEEM THE MEMBERS OF
    STUDENT-CENTERED SCHOOL BOARDS AND SCHOOL/COMMUNITY-BASED
    MANAGEMENT COUNCILS AS VOLUNTEERS FOR THE PURPOSES OF
    TRIGGERING THE PROTECTIONS OF THE STATE TORT LIABILITY ACT
    AND THE LAW RELATING TO VOLUNTEER SERVICE.



 1        WHEREAS, as student-centered school boards and
 2   school/community-based management councils become more active
 3   in the internal affairs of public schools, including hiring
 4   decisions involving school personnel, there is an increased
 5   chance of civil lawsuits and grievances arising from high-
 6   stakes decisions that were once the sole responsibility of the
 7   Superintendent of Education or the school principal; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, the mere threat of a civil lawsuit or grievance
10   can intimidate board and council members--many of whom are
11   volunteers from the community with no official connection to
12   the Department of Education--into making poor decisions simply
13   to avoid adverse results, including being held personally
14   liable for compensatory and punitive damages or having to
15   defend oneself against a lawsuit for these damages; and
16   
17        WHEREAS, the purpose of establishing student-centered
18   school boards and school/community-based management councils is
19   undermined when board and council members are afraid to
20   consider the controversial issues and make the difficult
21   decisions for which they were elected.  The Legislature
22   envisioned that these issues and decisions would be considered
23   and made by school communities--not judges and lawyers; and
24   
25        WHEREAS, allowing the internal affairs of public schools
26   to be decided in a court room is not only undemocratic and un-
27   American, but it teaches students that the party with the
28   wherewithal to hire an attorney can bully well-intentioned
29   board and council members into maintaining the status quo or
30   making special accommodations for certain individuals when the
31   needs of the many clearly outweigh the needs of the one; and
32   

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            
                                                        
                                                        


 1        WHEREAS, pursuant to section 90-4(4), Hawaii Revised
 2   Statutes, volunteers are deemed to be "employees of the State"
 3   when acting for a state agency, including the Department of
 4   Education, in their capacity as volunteers solely for the
 5   purposes of triggering the protections of the State Tort
 6   Liability Act (chapter 662, Hawaii Revised Statutes); and
 7   
 8        WHEREAS, the law relating to volunteer service (chapter
 9   662D, Hawaii Revised Statutes) immunizes a volunteer from civil
10   liability for damages or injury if the volunteer was acting in
11   good faith and within the scope of the volunteer's official
12   functions and duties for a governmental entity, including the
13   Department of Education and a public school; and
14   
15        WHEREAS, considering the members of student-centered
16   school boards and school/community-based management councils as
17   volunteers for the purposes of triggering the protections of
18   the State Tort Liability Act and the law relating to volunteer
19   service would allow responsible board and council members to
20   consider issues and make decisions without fear from groundless
21   lawsuits; now, therefore,
22   
23        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
24   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
25   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that the Board of Education is
26   requested to adopt a policy deeming the members of student-
27   centered school boards and school/community-based management
28   councils as volunteers for the purposes of triggering the
29   protections of the State Tort Liability Act and the law
30   relating to volunteer service; and
31   
32        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
33   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the
34   Board of Education, the Attorney General, and the chairpersons
35   of each student-centered school board and school/community-
36   based management council.
37 
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40                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________