STAND. COM. REP. NO. 9

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 106

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. 106 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize the Department of Health to require the Department of Education to report on coronavirus disease 2019 case counts and other related information in a manner most appropriate to public health and safety.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education, Department of Health, and Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from two individuals.

Your Committee finds that during the height of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, providing timely updates to students, parents, teachers, and local communities on case counts, community spread, and public health measures served as a valuable tool to protect the State against COVID-19. To ensure the safety of Hawaii's public school children, the Department of Education published weekly reports on COVID-19 case counts and other related information on its website to inform the community. However, as the State emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, reporting practices regarding the spread of COVID-19 have become less necessary while remaining administratively burdensome. As such, the Department of Education's reporting requirements should be modified to reflect appropriate and current public health and safety practices. This measure will allow the Department of Health to ensure the accurate reporting of data necessary for the success of COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, while balancing costly administrative burdens.

Your Committee has amended this measure by 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. 106, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 106, 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,

________________________________

MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair