Bill Text: HI SB2226 | 2018 | Regular Session | Amended

Hawaii Senate Bill 2226 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Relating To Preschool Educator Training Requirements.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-13 - Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [SB2226 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2018-SB2226-Amended.html

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2226
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO PRESCHOOL EDUCATOR TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the State's executive office on early learning public prekindergarten program serves children by providing them with high-quality early learning. This early learning is required by statute to address the children's physical, cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional development, and to prepare the children for school.

The legislature further finds that there are insufficient teachers in the public prekindergarten program with the specialized training necessary to best provide the required high-quality early learning to the State's children.

The purpose of this Act is to require that all teachers and educational assistants in the public prekindergarten program have specialized early-childhood training no later than July 1, 2022.

SECTION 2. Section 302L-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§302L-7 Executive office on early learning public prekindergarten program; public preschools. (a) There is established within the early learning system an early childhood education program to be known as the executive office on early learning public prekindergarten program and to be administered by the office pursuant to rules adopted by the office. The program shall:

(1) Be provided through the executive office on early learning, which may partner with the department of education;

(2) Prepare children for school and active participation in society through the use of either of the State's two official languages; and

(3) Provide access to high-quality early learning that addresses children's physical, cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional development.

(b) The program shall serve children in the year prior to the year of kindergarten eligibility, with priority extended to underserved or at-risk children, as defined in section 302L-1. Enrollment priority shall be given but is not limited to children who attend prekindergarten at schools to which the children will be assigned upon entering kindergarten under section 302A-1143.

(c) Enrollment in the program shall be voluntary. A child who is enrolled in, or is eligible to attend, a public elementary school, or who is required to attend school pursuant to section 302A-1132, shall not be eligible for enrollment in the program.

(d) The program shall incorporate high-quality standards pursuant to rules adopted by the office. High-quality standards shall be research-based, developmentally-appropriate practices associated with better educational outcomes for children, such as:

(1) Positive teacher-child interactions;

(2) Use of individual child assessments that are used for ongoing instructional planning, based upon all areas of childhood development and learning, including cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional approaches to learning and health and physical development;

(3) Family engagement; and

(4) Alignment with the Hawaii early learning and development standards, which align with department of education standards, state content and performance standards, and general learner outcomes for grades kindergarten to twelve, to facilitate a seamless and high-quality educational experience for children.

The office shall monitor implementation of the high-quality educational experience for children.

(e) Prior to opening a public prekindergarten class in a school, the principal, and other school personnel as required by the office, shall participate in an early learning induction program.

(f) The office shall provide support to incorporate the high-quality standards developed pursuant to subsection (d), including support related to teacher-child interactions, individual child assessments, and family engagement.

(g) The office shall coordinate with other agencies and programs to facilitate comprehensive services for early learning.

(h) The office shall collect data to:

(1) Evaluate the services provided;

(2) Inform policy; and

(3) Make any improvements to the program.

(i) The department of education and any public charter school existing pursuant to chapter 302D, may use available classrooms for public preschool programs statewide. The office shall give priority to public charter schools that serve high populations of underserved or at-risk children. Preschool classrooms established pursuant to this section shall be in addition to any classrooms used for the pre-plus program established pursuant to rules adopted by the department pursuant to chapter 91.

(j) No teacher shall be eligible to teach in the program unless the teacher has completed at least thirty credit hours of coursework on early childhood education from an accredited institution or training program. No educational assistant shall be eligible to work in the program unless the educational assistant has completed at least nine credit hours of coursework on early childhood education from an accredited institution or training program. The requirements imposed by this subsection shall be in addition to any other requirements that may be imposed by law or rule.

For purposes of this subsection, "educational assistant" means a person whose duties in the public educational system are primarily to support a teacher who has primary responsibility for the instruction of students within a classroom, who is under the professional supervision of a teacher, and who is in close and continuous contact with students. For purposes of this section, "teacher" has the same meaning as in section 302A-101; provided that it shall not include an educational assistant.

[~~(j)~~] (k) The office shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary to carry out the purposes of this section, including compliance with all applicable state and federal laws."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2022.

Report Title:

Executive Office on Early Learning; Teacher; Educational Assistant; Training Requirement

Description:

Requires specialized training in early childhood education for all teachers and educational assistants within the Executive Office on Early Learning Public Pre-Kindergarten Program. Effective July 1, 2022. (SD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.