Bill Text: HI SR24 | 2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Department of Education; Special Education; Preparation Time; Individualized Education Programs
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-28 - Report adopted, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [SR24 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2016-SR24-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.R. NO. |
24 |
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TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO ENSURE THAT SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS HAVE ADEQUATE TIME TO PLAN AND PREPARE INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR THEIR STUDENTS.
WHEREAS, special education services, including academic, speech-language, psychological, physical and occupational, and counseling accommodations, meet the unique needs of students with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, based on the various levels of students in their classes, special education teachers adapt education lessons in language, math, reading, and writing; teach basic skills in communication and literacy; plan, organize, and assign activities that are specific to each student's abilities; implement and update individualized education programs; assess students' performance, and track their progress and goals throughout the school year; and
WHEREAS, in a survey conducted in 2015 by the Hawaii State Teachers Association, seventy percent of special education teachers reported that they were not given adequate time to lesson plan or complete individualized education programs during the work day; and
WHEREAS, a decrease in the workload of special education teachers will give those teachers the ability to devote more time to preparing individualized education programs, leading to increased learning growth for special education students; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, that the Department of Education is requested to ensure that, in addition to planning time and preparation periods specified in any collectively bargained agreement, special education teachers have at least forty hours per year to use, at the discretion of the teacher, for the completion of individualized education programs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that during this additional preparation time, teachers should not be required to interact with students or perform other duties; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education and Superintendent of Education.
Department of Education; Special Education; Preparation Time; Individualized Education Programs
