STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 1113-24
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2024
RE: S.B. No. 2072
S.D. 1
H.D. 1
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2024
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2072, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to:
(1) Authorize the Department of Health to require the Department of Education to report on COVID-19 potential outbreaks or other public health emergencies and other related information in a manner most appropriate to public health and safety, as determined by the Department of Health;
(2) Repeal the requirement that the report be published on a weekly basis on the Department of Education's website; and
(3) Prohibit the Department of Health from requiring the Department of Education to provide personally identifiable information in any report pursuant to the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, except when the Department of Education has determined that a health or safety emergency exists.
Your Committee finds that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the operations of schools, requiring the establishment of additional procedures and processes to ensure the safety of students and prevent spread of COVID-19. Your Committee further finds that pursuant to Act 4, Special Session Laws of Hawaii 2021, the Department of Education is required to publish a weekly report on schools that have a student, staff member, or affiliated individual who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Your Committee notes that COVID-19 testing on school campuses is no longer routinely conducted by the Department of Education, which instead uses data reported to schools by parents and legal guardians of students, making the weekly COVID-19 report an administrative burden with minimal impact. This measure will instead give the Department of Health discretion to require the Department of Education to report on COVID-19 potential outbreaks and other public health emergencies. This will ensure that the State can respond to health emergencies in schools while reducing the Department of Education's administrative workload.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
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. 2072, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2072, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,
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____________________________ JUSTIN H. WOODSON, Chair |
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