STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2465

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2701

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Human Services and Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2701 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EARLY EDUCATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish a one-year Early Child Care Worker Subsidy Pilot Program and appropriate funds for the program to be expended by the Department of Human Services; and

(2) Appropriate funds to the Hawaii Early Childhood Educator Special Fund to be expended by the Executive Office on Early Learning for the purposes of the Hawaii Early Childhood Educator Stipend Program.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Executive Office on Early Learning, University of Hawai‘i System, Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women, Early Learning Board, Hawai‘i Children's Action Network Speaks!, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii, American Association of University Women of Hawaii, Early Childhood Action Strategy, Special Education Advisory Council, and twenty-three individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services, Department of Budget and Finance, and State Public Charter School Commission.

Your Committees find that although a strong early child care and education workforce is crucial to support the children, working families, and communities in Hawaii, the demand for quality early child care and education far exceeds the number of qualified early child care professionals currently available in the State. Your Committees further find that disruptions to the early child care and education system caused by the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic have created more challenges to expand access to quality, affordable early child care and education programs. The one-year pilot program established pursuant to this measure will help increase compensation for qualified early child care professionals and thereby retain the existing early learning child care and education workforce in Hawaii while its economy and the early child care and education system recovers from the effect of the pandemic.

Your Committees note the testimony of the Executive Office on Early Learning, stating that the Early Learning Special Fund may be a more appropriate fund to receive moneys pursuant to this measure. Your Committees find that Act 210, Sessions Laws of Hawaii 2021, created the Hawaii Early Childhood Educator Stipend Program to be administered by the Executive Office on Early Learning, to address the shortage of early childhood educators who have coursework in early childhood education. Your Committees further find that the Hawaii Early Childhood Educator Special Fund was established to receive stipend funds repaid by a stipend recipient who failed to complete the required certificate, degree, or license program, as applicable.

Your Committees also note the testimony of the State Public Charter School Commission, clarifying that early childhood educators are hired by each public charter school with a pre-K classroom, and not by the State Public Charter School Commission.

Your Committees further note the testimony of the Department of Human Services, requesting clarification of the purpose of the pilot program; specifically, whether the purpose of the subsidy is to increase professional development of the child care workforce, retain the existing early child care workforce, or both.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the purpose of the one-year Early Child Care Worker Subsidy Pilot Program is to retain the existing early child care workforce;

(2) Amending section 1 to reflect its clarified purpose;

(3) Clarifying that the pilot program participants shall not be employed by the Department of Education, Executive Office on Early Learning, or public charter schools;

(4) Making the recipient of the appropriations for the Early Childhood Educator Stipend Program the Early Learning Special Fund, established pursuant to section 302L-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Education that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2701, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2701, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Education,

________________________________ MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair

________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair