STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3767

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2543

H.D. 1

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 2543, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ACCESS TO LEARNING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to build the capacity to provide all children three to four years of age with access to learning.

Specifically, this measure:

(1) Requires the Department of Education and Public Charter School Commission to assess kindergarten students at public schools and charter schools, respectively;

(2) Requires the parents and guardians of public and charter school kindergarten students to disclose their students' prior early learning attendance;

(3) Provides the Public Charter School Commission with administrative authority over certain early learning programs in public charter schools and establishes requirements for those programs;

(4) Expands the Preschool Open Doors Program to provide grants for establishing new private preschools and expanding existing private preschools;

(5) Appropriates funds and positions for the Preschool Open Doors Program;

(6) Requires the Department of Human Services to collect and analyze data regarding the prior early learning attendance of kindergarten students;

(7) Establishes the following early learning benchmarks:

(A) Fifty percent of certain three- and four-year-old children shall have access to enrollment in a preschool program by December 31, 2027; and

(B) One hundred percent of certain three- and four-year-old children shall have access to enrollment in a preschool program by December 31, 2032;

(8) Establishes data sharing requirements;

(9) Appropriates funds for Hawaiian language medium pre-kindergarten and Hawaiian language immersion classes; and

(10) Authorizes the Hawaii State Public Library System to establish early learning classrooms at libraries.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Human Services, Hawaii Children's Action Network Speaks!, Bank of Hawaii, Early Childhood Action Strategy, Kamehameha Schools, Special Education Advisory Council, Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education, Partners in Development Foundation, Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, and one individual.

Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Executive Office on Early Learning, Department of Education, Early Learning Board, and Hawaii State Teachers Association.

Your Committee finds that providing all children with access to early learning before entering kindergarten will establish a stronger educational foundation to help Hawaii's children improve their personal development, academic achievement, and career success.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Retaining the authorization for establishing, while deleting the appropriation of funding for, permanent full-time equivalent positions for the Preschool Open Doors Program;

(2) Appropriating $5,000,000 from federal funds deposited in the state treasury for the Department of Human Services to expand its information technology system for the purpose of managing the information collected pursuant to this measure;

(3) Establishing the Hawaiian early learning trust fund, to be expended by the University of Hawaii of Hilo for the purposes of Hawaiian early learning, and appropriating moneys from the trust fund for classrooms for the Hawaiian language medium pre-kindergarten programs;

(4) Exempting, until July 1, 2026, the laboratory school program of the Hawaiian language college at the University of Hawaii at Hilo from the standards, assessments, performance ratings, staff qualifications, and staff training requirements of the measure;

(5) Appropriating $3,000,000 of federal funds deposited in the state treasury for early learning classrooms and services on public library property;

(6) Changing the effective date to upon approval, with the provisos that:

(A) The establishment of permanent full-time equivalent positions for the Preschool Open Doors Program shall take effect on July 1, 2020;

(B) The appropriation out of federal funds deposited in the state treasury for the Department of Human Services to expand its information technology system shall take effect on July 1, 2020;

(C) The appropriation out of the Hawaiian early learning trust fund shall take effect on July 1, 2020;

(D) The appropriation out of federal funds deposited in the state treasury for early learning classrooms and services at public libraries shall take effect on July 1, 2020;

(E) Provisions requiring the Board of Education and the Public Charter School Commission to adopt a standardized assessment for students entering kindergarten shall take effect on July 1, 2022;

(F) Provisions requiring the disclosure of prior early learning program attendance shall take effect on July 1, 2022;

(G) Provisions relating to the establishment or augmentation by the Department of Human Services of a database to collect and analyze early learning program information shall take effect on July 1, 2022;

(H) The amendments to section 27-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, relating to departmental data sharing shall take effect on July 1, 2022; and

(I) Provisions relating to the establishment of benchmarks for preschool programs shall take effect on July 1, 2024; and

(7) Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2543, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2543, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair