STAND. COM. REP. NO. 231-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: H.B. No. 1986

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 1986 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require at least one at-large member of the Board of Education to be a Hawaiian immersion expert selected from a list of nominees submitted by the Aha Kauleo Kaiapuni Hawaii.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawaii State Teachers Association, Kamehameha Schools, ‘Aha Pūnana Leo, Kanaeokana, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Nā Leo Kāko‘o Maui, Ka‘Aumanu, ‘Aha Kauleo, Hui Makua o Pū‘ōhala, and numerous individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Board of Education.

Your Committee finds that Olelo Hawaii, the Hawaiian language, has been the native language of Hawaii's indigenous people for over two thousand years and has provided the foundation for the establishment and development of Hawaiian society. In 1978, the Constitution of the State of Hawaii was amended to support the Hawaiian language by including article X, section 4, which requires the State to promote the study of Hawaiian culture, history, and language; and article XV, section 4, which states English and Hawaiian shall be the official languages of Hawaii, reaffirming the State's constitutional responsibility.

Your Committee further finds that existing law does not require any member of the Board of Education to be an individual with expertise in Hawaiian studies, the Hawaiian language, or Hawaiian immersion education. This measure will require at least one at-large member of the Board of Education to be a Hawaiian immersion expert which will help to better promote the study of Hawaiian culture, history, and language in public schools, as required by the Constitution of the State of Hawaii.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing its effective date to July 1, 2050; and

(2) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment 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. 1986, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1986, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

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

____________________________

JUSTIN H. WOODSON, Chair