REPORT TITLE:
Educational Accountability


DESCRIPTION:
Establishes an interagency educational accountability working
group to review statutes, agency administrative rules, policies,
procedures, and practices, and identify those needing suspension
to support improved accountability for educational resources.
(HB1874 CD1)

 
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                                                        1874
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII                                            C.D. 1
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO EDUCATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that an accountability
 
 2 system involving the process of accepting responsibility and
 
 3 being answerable for one's actions, should motivate and support
 
 4 improved performance.  An effective accountability system
 
 5 clearly:
 
 6      (1)  Links authority and adequate resources to
 
 7           responsibility;
 
 8      (2)  Defines clear lines of responsibility and mutual
 
 9           obligation; and
 
10      (3)  Requires continuous inspection of how well our system
 
11           and our schools are supporting student attainment of
 
12           statewide standards.
 
13 This inspection should lead to recommendations and actions in a
 
14 continuous improvement cycle.
 
15      The legislature further finds that those most responsible
 
16 for the success of our public education system are the board of
 
17 education and the superintendent of education, and therefore,
 
18 they should be held most accountable for educational outcomes.
 
19 However, because Hawaii maintains a statewide school system,
 
20 responsibility for various support functions for our public
 

 
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 1 education system are assigned to myriad state agencies.  The
 
 2 legislature further finds that among these agencies, there are
 
 3 competing goals and objectives that can impede the efficiency and
 
 4 effectiveness of our public schools.  It is necessary, therefore,
 
 5 to review various agency functions and identify those which may
 
 6 be impeding educational success and achievement of statewide
 
 7 standards.
 
 8      Thus, the purpose of this Act is to establish an interagency
 
 9 educational accountability working group to review statutes and
 
10 agency administrative rules, policies, procedures, and practices
 
11 and recommend these for temporary suspension by the appropriate
 
12 agencies to support measures for improved educational
 
13 accountability.
 
14      SECTION 2.  (a)  There is established within the department
 
15 of education, an interagency educational accountability working
 
16 group.  Specifically, the working group shall:
 
17      (1)  Review all pertinent statutes, agency rules, policies,
 
18           procedures, and practices to identify those which are
 
19           impeding educational system restructuring and
 
20           reallocation and effective use of educational
 
21           resources;
 
22      (2)  Based on the review required in paragraph (1),
 
23           enumerate and report to the board of education,
 

 
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 1           governor, and legislature any statutes, rules,
 
 2           policies, procedures, and practices identified as
 
 3           needing suspension to allow the department of education
 
 4           to restructure and reallocate its resources to support
 
 5           student achievement; and
 
 6      (3)  Submit an annual report to the 2001 and 2002 regular
 
 7           sessions of the legislature regarding the progress of
 
 8           the working group and any legislative actions necessary
 
 9           to support the reorganization, reallocation, and
 
10           effective use of educational resources.
 
11      (b)  The interagency working group shall be composed of:
 
12      (1)  The governor or the governor's designee;
 
13      (2)  The chair of the board of education or the chair's
 
14           designee;
 
15      (3)  The director of accounting and general services or the
 
16           director's designee;
 
17      (4)  The attorney general or the attorney general's
 
18           designee;
 
19      (5)  The director of budget and finance or the director's
 
20           designee;
 
21      (6)  The superintendent of education or the superintendent's
 
22           designee;
 
23      (7)  The director of health or the director's designee;
 

 
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 1      (8)  The director of human resources development or the
 
 2           director's designee;
 
 3      (9)  The director of labor and industrial relations or the
 
 4           director's designee; and
 
 5     (10)  One representative each from the Hawaii State Teachers'
 
 6           Association, the Hawaii Government Employees'
 
 7           Association, the United Public Workers Local 646, and
 
 8           the Hawaii State Parents, Teachers and Students
 
 9           Association.
 
10      (c)  The chair of the working group shall be the
 
11 superintendent of education, as the chief executive officer of
 
12 the public school system.  The working group shall convene on a
 
13 regular basis, and shall focus its initial efforts on identifying
 
14 statutes, agency rules, policies, procedures, and practices
 
15 specifically in the areas of financial and human resource
 
16 allocation and management and their effect on educational
 
17 resources.  The working group shall develop a list of the
 
18 statutes, rules, policies, procedures, and practices recommended
 
19 for suspension by the appropriate agency, beginning with the
 
20 2001-2003 fiscal biennium.
 
21      SECTION 3.  The working group shall submit, in a timely
 
22 fashion, a status report to the board of education, which shall
 
23 include a summary of its activities regarding the review of
 

 
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 1 agency functions and identification of rules, policies,
 
 2 procedures, and practices recommended for suspension.
 
 3      SECTION 4.  The working group shall submit a status report
 
 4 to the legislature which shall include a summary of its
 
 5 activities regarding the review of agency functions and
 
 6 identification of statutes, rules, policies, procedures, and
 
 7 practices recommended for suspension no later than sixty days
 
 8 prior to the the convening of the regular session of 2001.  The
 
 9 working group shall submit a final report to the legislature that
 
10 shall include a summary of the activities undertaken by the
 
11 department of education in response to the suspensions no later
 
12 than sixty days prior to the convening of the regular session of
 
13 2002.
 
14      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 

 
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