STAND. COM. REP. NO. 512

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 260

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 260 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Department of Education to employ individuals as vocational, technical, or career pathway teachers; and

(2) Authorize Department of Education teachers to instruct vocation, technical, or career pathway classes without possessing an applicable bachelor's degree.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Food+ Policy Internship 2023 and two individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Education and Hawai‘i Teacher Standards Board.

Your Committee finds that the State has an obligation to prepare its students with the tools necessary for successful futures in the modern economy. As a traditional four-year bachelor's degree is becoming increasingly irrelevant for earning potential and job placement, the bachelor's degree is no longer the sole path to economic self-sufficiency. Additionally, many well-paying jobs do not require any level of higher education, with careers in technical and trade industries providing income above the national average, plus benefits. To help prepare Hawaii's keiki for a greater variety of post-high school academic or professional opportunities, this measure requires the Department of Education to hire qualified individuals to teach vocational, technical, or career pathway classes.

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. 260 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary.

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

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MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair