STAND. COM. REP. NO. 467

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2021

RE: H.B. No. 1294

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 1294 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the transfer of non-facility general fund per-pupil allocations of special education students of a Department of Education school to a charter school upon enrollment of the student at the charter school, subject to certain conditions.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from HawaiiKidsCAN, DreamHouse Ewa Beach Public Charter School, and six individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Education.

Your Committee finds that the special education per pupil allocation is an annual process in which special education funds are allocated to individual public schools in the Department of Education. Your Committee further finds that the methodology driving the special education per pupil allocation is based on an assumption that each year, student populations and special education eligible student percentages are relatively stable, but this funding methodology does not account for special education students transferring from a Department of Education school to a charter school, which leads to funding not following the student. This measure seeks to correct the situation where special education funding is lower than the actual enrolled numbers of a charter school.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requiring that the transfer of any non-facility general fund per-pupil allocation of a special education student of a Department of Education School to a charter school occur upon receipt of the completed intent to enroll form of the student at the charter school;

(2) Requiring the transferred allocation to be used for special education services; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1294, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1294, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

____________________________

JUSTIN H. WOODSON, Chair