STAND. COM. REP. NO. 503

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 481

S.D. 1

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. 481 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Board of Education to develop a Hawaiian Language Medium Education Kindergarten Entry Assessment to be administered by the Department of Education, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year;

(2) Require the State Public Charter School Commission to adopt the assessment; and

(3) Require a kindergarten entry assessment be administered within ninety days of a child's admission to kindergarten; provided that the child has not received any other kindergarten assessment within the past one hundred eighty days.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education, State Public Charter School Commission, and four individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from ‘Aha Pūnana Leo; Governing Board of Ke Kula ‘O Nāwahīokalani‘ōpu‘u Iki, Laboratory Public Charter School; Ke Kula ‘o Samuel M. Kamakau, Laboratory Public Charter School; Kupuna for the Mo‘opuna; and one hundred one individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii State Teachers Association and one individual.

Your Committee finds that article X, section 4, of the Hawaii State Constitution requires both English and Hawaiian language pathways within public schools. The Department of Education's Hawaiian language medium education program, Ka Papahana Kaiapuni, offers students an education in the medium of Hawaiian language, which incorporates Hawaiian language, history, culture, values, and teaching methodologies to prepare students for college, professional life, and community engagement within a multicultural society. While Act 210, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021, requires the Department of Education to implement a statewide kindergarten entry assessment, the current framework to appropriately evaluate Ka Papahana Kaiapuni students is limited and a comparable tool in Olelo Hawaii does not exist. To ensure that students entering kindergarten are adequately prepared for their education, a linguistically and culturally appropriate kindergarten entry assessment for Ka Papahana Kaiapuni students is necessary.

Your Committee further finds that is essential for the Department of Education to provide relevant data to the Legislature regarding early learning programs. Therefore, amendments to this measure are necessary to address this issue.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have established a Hawaiian language kindergarten entry assessment for Department of Education schools;

(2) Requiring the Department of Education to submit annual reports to the Legislature on early learning programs attendance, including early learning program attendance by school, to determine the need across the State;

(3) Repealing requirements for the Board of Education to adopt a kindergarten entry assessment administered by the Department of Education;

(4) Deleting section 1;

(5) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(6) 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. 481, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 481, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

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MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair