STAND. COM. REP. NO. 322

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 467

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 467 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the Board of Education to:

(1) Hold no less than six community forums annually, with at least one forum in each county;

(2) Include an open forum for public comments on non-agenda items; and

(3) Submit a report to the Legislature on implementing open forums.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Americans for Democratic Action, League of Women Voters, and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Board of Education, Office of Information Practices, and Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest.

Your Committee finds that community meetings held by the Board of Education improve the public’s access to the Board and allows the public to provide more information to help the Board with decision-making and priority setting. Your Committee further finds that providing greater access to the Board of Education will improve transparency and access to information thereby encouraging an informed and engaged community of citizens. This measure seeks to increase communication between the community—at—large and the Board of Education.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Adopting the recommendations of the Board of Education and requiring the Board of Education to provide written public notice of their forums that shall be open to the public for attendance and to submit data, views, or argument; and

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

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 S.B. No. 467, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 467, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

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

________________________________

MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair