Bill Text: HI HB1453 | 2014 | Regular Session | Amended

Hawaii House Bill 1453 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Education; Reform; Appropriation ($)

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-12-18 - Carried over to 2014 Regular Session. [HB1453 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2014-HB1453-Amended.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1453
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding three new sections to subpart B of part II to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§302A- Student-to-teacher ratios; established. (a) Each public school shall maintain a student-to-teacher ratio between thirteen to seventeen students per teacher for every grade level from kindergarten to the eighth grade.

(b) The student-to-teacher ratios of each public school shall be posted on the website of the department.

§302A- Classroom composition; heterogeneity. The department shall provide a statewide flexible system of educational placement and programs within the public school system that the department determines is necessary to achieve heterogeneity with regard to scholastic aptitude in the composition of each class in a public school.

§302A- Textbooks; instruction. The department shall not use any textbook for classroom instruction that was published more than two years prior to the school year."

SECTION 2. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding three new sections to subpart C of part II to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§302A- AVID; expansion. (a) The department shall implement the Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program in all grade levels of public schools to enable students in the lower eightieth percentile academically to achieve international competitiveness.

(b) The AVID program shall:

(1) Identify challenge areas for each student;

(2) Assist and mentor each student in overcoming those challenges;

(3) Follow up with each student on the student's assignments to ensure their completion; and

(4) Assist each student, through direct tutorial assistance or otherwise, in subject matter areas for which the student falls below a proficiency rating of eighty per cent.

(c) Except for students who rank in the academic top twenty per cent of each class, every student in a public school shall attend one classroom period per day devoted to the AVID program.

§302A- Internet access. The department shall provide high-speed internet access in each classroom to supplement curriculum and instruction.

§302A- Community involvement. Each public school shall seek community involvement to increase student performance outcomes."

SECTION 3. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new sections to subpart B of part IV to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§302A- Department website; mandatory information. (a) The department shall maintain on its public website the following information on each public school:

(1) The nature of community involvement at each public school;

(2) The allocation of federal and state funds at each public school;

(3) A description or organizational chart of the administrative structure of each public school within the department of education;

(4) An explanation of the test results of any public school or any other information about that school that appears on the department's website, when requested by the principal of another public school;

(5) The student-to-teacher ratios of each public school;

(6) Aggregated students' test results in reading, writing, mathematics, and science for each public school;

(7) The school's approach to achieving international competitiveness; and

(8) The department's evaluation of each public school with regard to that public school's success rate in achieving international competitiveness including any obstacles; provided that a public school's success rate shall be deemed to be the rate of change of student performance with regard to achieving international competitiveness.

(b) The department shall also maintain on its public website at least the following on the public school system:

(1) Teacher support practices by school districts, including teacher development, teacher assessment, teacher training, teaching models, instructional materials, and other tools and techniques to assist teachers at improving student performance outcomes;

(2) A brief but adequate description from the department administration of curriculum frameworks based upon the most up-to-date techniques on how students learn; and

(3) Teacher-parent communication activities and crucial support services from governmental and non-governmental entities.

§302A- External assistance. The department shall assign accredited external assistance, as determined by the department, to any public school that does not show improvement in two consecutive years at increasing student performance outcomes in achieving international competitiveness."

SECTION 4. Section 302A-101, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

""International competitiveness" means that seventy-five per cent of students in the public schools perform on par on standardized examinations with students in the ten countries with the highest scores in reading, writing, mathematics, and science."

SECTION 5. Section 302A-201, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302A-201 Statewide performance standards. (a) The board shall establish statewide performance standards and the means to assess the standards based upon the recommendations in the final report of the performance standards commission established pursuant to Act 334, Session Laws of Hawaii 1991; provided that the board may review and modify the performance standards, as the board deems necessary, to reflect the needs of public school students and educational goals adopted by the board.

(b) The board shall expand statewide performance standards to enable students to achieve international competitiveness under a schedule of progress to be determined by the board; provided that students in the public schools shall achieve international competitiveness within seven years of the effective date of Act , Session Laws of Hawaii 2013; and provided further that no well-defined group of students in the public schools, as determined by the board, shall perform at levels below one standard deviation of mean of all students.

(c) Every public school shall administer tests in an electronic format for the core courses of reading, writing, mathematics, and science to track student progress towards achieving international competitiveness."

SECTION 6. Section 302A-624, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) The salary schedule for all teachers of the department shall be negotiated pursuant to section 89-9[.]; provided that the starting salaries of teachers shall be based upon levels of educational attainment; and provided further that the starting salaries of teachers at schools whose students do not meet statewide performance standards may be set at a higher level than the starting salaries of teachers at schools whose students meet statewide performance standards."

SECTION 7. Section 302A-1128, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302A-1128 Department powers and duties. The department shall have entire charge and control and be responsible for the conduct of all affairs pertaining to public instruction in the public schools the department establishes and operates, including operating and maintaining the capital improvement and repair and maintenance programs for department and school facilities[.], and conducting unannounced, random site visits at each public school to inspect the school's financial administration and operations. The department may establish and maintain schools for secular instruction at such places and for such terms as in its discretion it may deem advisable and the funds at its disposal may permit. The schools may include high schools, kindergarten schools, schools or classes for early education, boarding schools, Hawaiian language medium education schools, and evening and day schools. The department may also maintain classes for technical and other instruction in any school where there may not be pupils sufficient in number to justify the establishment of separate schools for these purposes."

SECTION 8. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2013-2014 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2014-2015 for additional funding for each public school to increase community involvement.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 9. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2015, and shall apply beginning with the 2015-2016 school year; provided that Section 8 shall take effect on July 1, 2013.

Report Title:

Education; Reform; Appropriation

Description:

Establishes student-teacher ratios, incorporates the Advancement via Individual Determination program into Department of Education curriculum, requires specified information on the Department of Education's website, and establishes student performance standards. Appropriates funds. (HB1453 HD1)

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