Bill Text: HI HB2739 | 2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Student Travel; Department of Education (DOE); Appropriation ($)
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-02-17 - Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0). [HB2739 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2016-HB2739-Amended.html
|
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2739 |
|
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016 |
H.D. 1 |
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO STUDENT TRAVEL.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that, for over thirty years, public school students have been afforded the opportunity to participate in educational tours that enrich their academic experience by making the lessons they learn in the classroom real and tangible. For many students, educational tours are the first, and sometimes only, opportunity for interstate travel. More than simply providing an enriching academic experience, educational tours also offer students the chance to experience places and cultures that broaden their view of the world.
The legislature recognizes that teachers often devote personal time to research, plan, and implement educational tours, including aligning travel destinations and activities to the curriculum and chaperoning students twenty-four hours a day during the trip. To help ensure that teachers are able to continue to provide this enrichment benefit, many educational tour companies offer to pay the direct travel expenses of chaperones, based upon the number of students who are traveling.
On August 4, 2015, the state ethics commission issued a memorandum stating that the state ethics code prohibits employees, including teachers, "from accepting free travel and other benefits from tour companies for serving as chaperones on student educational trips."
The legislature believes that, were it not for teachers taking on the burden of researching, planning, and implementing educational tours, in addition to their daily responsibilities, students would not have the invaluable and enriching opportunity of educational tours. Expecting teachers to fund the direct travel expenses for educational tours for which they are serving as chaperones is unrealistic and ignores the substantial amount of additional work that teachers take upon themselves to facilitate these educational tours.
The legislature finds that providing chaperones with direct travel expenses benefits students by ensuring chaperones have the financial resources necessary to continue providing these educational travel opportunities. To ensure the continued opportunity for these educational trips, the department of education has established a student travel program to provide for the direct travel expenses of department school chaperones and to fund scholarships to provide financial assistance to department school students who would not otherwise be able to participate in educational travel.
Given the value of educational tours for many of Hawaii's students and the importance of supporting the efforts of Hawaii's teachers to offer these educational travel opportunities, the purpose of this Act is to appropriate general funds to assist the department of education with its student travel program.
SECTION 2. 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 2016-2017 to support the department of education's student travel program.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.
Report Title:
Student Travel; Department of Education (DOE); Appropriation
Description:
Appropriates funds to support the DOE's Student Travel Program. (HB2739 HD1)
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
