REPORT TITLE: 
Juvenile Record Sharing


DESCRIPTION:
Allows the department of education to access juvenile records as
provided under section 571-84.6 (HRS); requires family court to
expedite the release of information as requested by the
department; establishes a working group of interested
stakeholders to create and implement procedures for this free
flow of information.  (SD2)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2087
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                     A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO JUVENILES.


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

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 571-84.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§571-84.6  Minor law violators; proceedings and records not
 
 4 confidential.(a)  As used in this section:
 
 5      "Legal record" means petitions, complaints, motions, and
 
 6 other papers filed in any case; transcripts of testimony taken by
 
 7 the court; and findings, judgments, orders, decrees, and other
 
 8 papers and adjudication data, other than social records, filed in
 
 9 proceedings before the court.
 
10      "Social record" means those social and clinical studies,
 
11 reports, or examinations prepared in any case pursuant to this
 
12 chapter.
 
13      (b)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, in any
 
14 proceeding in which a minor age fourteen years of age or older
 
15 has been adjudicated by the court under section 571-11(1) for an
 
16 act that if committed by an adult would:
 
17      (1)  Be murder in the first degree or second degree or
 
18           attempted murder in the first degree;
 
19      (2)  Result in substantial or serious bodily injury to or
 
20           death of a victim;
 

 
Page 2                                                     2087
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        S.D. 2
                                                        

 
 1      (3)  Be a class A felony; or
 
 2      (4)  Be a felony and the minor has more than one prior
 
 3           adjudication for acts that would constitute felonies if
 
 4           committed by an adult,
 
 5 all legal records related to the above stated proceeding shall be
 
 6 open for public inspection, unless the administrative judge of
 
 7 the family court or the judge's designee finds in writing that
 
 8 there are significant and compelling circumstances peculiar to
 
 9 the case of such a nature that public inspection would be
 
10 inconsistent with or defeat the express purpose of this section.
 
11 All social records shall be kept confidential except as provided
 
12 in section 571-84.
 
13      (c)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, in any
 
14 case in which a minor age sixteen years of age or older comes
 
15 within section 571-11(1) is taken into custody for an act that if
 
16 committed by an adult would:
 
17      (1)  Be murder in the first degree or second degree or
 
18           attempted murder in the first degree;
 
19      (2)  Result in substantial or serious bodily injury to or
 
20           death of a victim;
 
21      (3)  Be a class A felony and the minor has one or more prior
 
22           adjudications for an act that would constitute a felony
 
23           if committed by an adult; or
 

 
Page 3                                                     2087
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        S.D. 2
                                                        

 
 1      (4)  Be a class B or C felony and the minor has more than
 
 2           one prior adjudication for acts that would constitute
 
 3           felonies if committed by an adult,
 
 4 all legal proceedings related to the above stated case shall be
 
 5 open to the public unless the administrative judge of the family
 
 6 court or the judge's designee finds in writing that there are
 
 7 significant and compelling circumstances peculiar to the case of
 
 8 such a nature that an open proceeding would be inconsistent with
 
 9 or defeat the express purpose of this section. 
 
10      (d)  Notwithstanding the provisions of section 92F-14 and
 
11 any other law to the contrary, the family court shall provide
 
12 reasonable access to all records open for public inspection
 
13 pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) to the department of
 
14 education.  Upon a written inquiry by the department of
 
15 education, the family court shall provide the information within
 
16 ten working days from the date of the court's receipt of the
 
17 request."
 
18      SECTION 2.  The department of education shall convene a
 
19 working group to review existing laws relating to the
 
20 confidentiality of juvenile court records and the department's
 
21 right to access juvenile records under section 571-84.6, Hawaii
 
22 Revised Statutes.  The primary focus of the working group shall
 
23 be school safety and how access to confidential juvenile records
 

 
Page 4                                                     2087
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        S.D. 2
                                                        

 
 1 will provide the needed support services to assist the
 
 2 adjudicated minor to succeed in school.  The working group shall
 
 3 include, but not be limited to, the following participants:
 
 4      (1)  A representative from the judiciary (family court);
 
 5      (2)  A representative from the department of the attorney
 
 6           general;
 
 7      (3)  A representative from the office of information
 
 8           practices;
 
 9      (4)  A representative from the office of youth services;
 
10      (5)  A representative from the county prosecuting attorneys;
 
11      (6)  A representative from the office of the public
 
12           defender;
 
13      (7)  The student member of the board of education;
 
14      (8)  A representative from the Hawaii state parent teacher
 
15           student association; and
 
16      (9)  A representative from the Hawaii state teachers
 
17           association.
 
18      The department of education, in collaboration with the
 
19 working group, shall submit a report of its findings,
 
20 recommendations, and any proposed legislation to the legislature
 
21 no later than thirty days prior to the convening of the 2001
 
22 regular session.
 

 
 
 
Page 5                                                     2087
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        S.D. 2
                                                        

 
 1      SECTION 3.  The department of education shall adopt rules,
 
 2 pursuant to chapter 91, relating to the establishment and
 
 3 maintenance of administrative, technical, and physical safeguards
 
 4 that are appropriate to protect the confidentiality, security,
 
 5 accuracy, and integrity of the information received or
 
 6 transmitted from the family court.  In addition, the department
 
 7 of education shall consider:
 
 8      (1)  The conditions or situations arising at the school
 
 9           which would lead the department to request access to
 
10           the information maintained by the family court;
 
11      (2)  The appropriate departmental personnel who may request
 
12           the information from the family court;
 
13      (3)  The essential departmental personnel to whom the
 
14           information will be disseminated and for what purposes;
 
15      (4)  How the department will use the confidential
 
16           information to rehabilitate the minor and to protect
 
17           other students and staff; 
 
18      (5)  What sanctions or disciplinary actions will be
 
19           instituted for the wrongful dissemination of
 
20           confidential information; and
 
21      (6)  When and how the confidential file will be destroyed.
 

 
 
 
 
 
Page 6                                                     2087
                                     H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
                                                        S.D. 2
                                                        

 
 1 The department of education shall submit a report to the
 
 2 legislature no later than thirty days prior to the convening of
 
 3 the 2001 regular session, regarding the adoption and
 
 4 implementation of this policy, any public responses to the
 
 5 policy, and any additional resources necessary to implement the
 
 6 policy, and any legislation necessary to support or enforce the
 
 7 policy.
 
 8      SECTION 4.  New statutory material is underscored.
 
 9      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval;
 
10 provided that section 1 shall take effect on July 1, 2001 and
 
11 shall be repealed on June 30, 2003 and section 571-84.6, Hawaii
 
12 Revised Statutes, shall be reenacted in the form in which it read
 
13 on the day before the approval of this Act.