STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3521

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.R. No. 107

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.R. No. 107 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE AND MANAGEMENT AUDITS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND ITS ATTACHED AGENCIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Auditor to conduct quarterly performance and management audits of the Department of Education and its attached agencies.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one individual.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Education and Office of the Auditor.

Your Committee finds that, given the Department of Education's significant mandate and operational budget, public oversight of the Department is essential to ensuring that taxpayer funds are being utilized effectively to support student achievement and teacher success. Three audits of Department of Education programs released by the Office of the Auditor in the past year have indicated a lack of consistent controls implemented to manage risk and effectuate progress toward legislative goals. This measure seeks to address these gaps by implementing more frequent oversight and identifying operational improvements to enhance public education statewide.

Your Committee acknowledges the concerns raised in testimony by the Office of the Auditor that it does not have the capacity to conduct four performance and management audits of the Department of Education annually, given its office size and current responsibilities. Therefore, amendments to this measure are necessary to address this concern.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requesting that the Department of Education's Internal Audit Office, rather than the Office of the Auditor, conduct the performance and management audits;

(2) Requesting that the performance and management audits be conducting semiannually, rather than quarterly;

(3) Amending the list of recipients entitled to a certified copy of the measure;

(4) Amending legislative findings to reflect its amended purpose;

(5) Amending its title accordingly; 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 concurs with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 107, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 107, S.D. 1.

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

________________________________

DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair