STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2177

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2071

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2071 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Department of Education to enhance the Department's mobile platforms that provide student mental health and social-emotional health support.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education, Hawaii State Teachers Association, Opportunity Youth Action Hawaiʻi, Hawaii Young Republicans, CARES, and one individual.

Your Committee finds that there is a growing need to provide mental health support to Hawaii's keiki. Presently, the Department of Education utilizes the Panorama Education platform and Trust Circle Mobile platform to gather student data around academics, attendance, behavior, mental health, and social-emotional learning needs that can provide early identification of social-emotional and academic issues. Data collected by the Department of Health also provides the Department with valuable insight into ongoing trends, allocation of existing resources, and information for strategies to better assist students in need. Accordingly, this measure will continue to minimize barriers to social-emotional, academic, and mental health services for students to ensure Hawaii's keiki can thrive in their educational careers.

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. 2071 and recommends that it pass Second Reading 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