001Aloha and welcome to the senate committee on education today is Wednesday March 12 2025 this is our 3 pm agenda and we are in hearing room 229 this meeting including the audio and video of remote participants is being streamed live on YouTube you will find links to viewing options for all Senate meetings on the live and On Demand video page of the legislature's website this Zoom meeting and YouTube live stream event will include the 3:00 p.m. agenda for the committee on education in the unlikely event that we must abruptly end this hearing due to technical difficulties the committee will reconvene to discuss any outstanding business on Friday March 14 2025 at 3 p.m. in room 229 and a public notice will be posted on the legislature's website I'd like to take this time to remind
002our testifiers that due to time restrictions on our hearings we will be limiting testimony to 1 minute per testifier per bill for people participating remotely please remain muted and video disabled until shortly before it is your turn to testify when I call your name unmute yourself and your time will begin after your minute is completed staff will mute you so that that we can move this hearing along in an orderly and efficient manner first up on our agenda House Bill 429 HD1 relating to Early Learning appropriates funds to hire teachers and teacher assistance and for equipment and services for public preschools okay okay our first to testify our esteemed lieutenant governor Miss s good afternoon chair and vice chair members afternoon the I was going to say members of the committee but thank you yeah
003yeah in strong support you know thanks to the efforts of the legislature and working together closely with the education committee we successfully opened up over 50 preschool classrooms in the last two years in the next two years we are already planning ahead to build another 50 classrooms and this bill will help fund the teachers and teacher assistance and Mahalo again for your efforts in ensuring that we have access to preschool throughout the state thank you thank you lieutenant govern just questions you don't want to ask people to testify first you know your time is important so we'd like to ask your question yes I just want to ask we using any federal funds for any of the Early Learning so um not the ones that are part of the ready Ki program because the ready
004Ki initiative and all the eel and doe classrooms are all state funded so these are thanks to the legislature these will continue regardless of what happens to federal funds but for instance Head Start um apparently there were huge layoffs of Head Start individuals Nationwide so we anticipate some of the head the kids impacted by or serviced by Head Start will lose some of the seats so we anticipate that's why even more so we probably need to rrap up even more on the states on okay so here's a harder question so with the dismantling of the education department at the federal level uh and the impacts that'll be to our K22 not to mention everybody else um and the need to fund more State funding how is this going to all fit in as far as
005you know prior prioritizing Early Education in preschool yeah um we are very mindful of that as well and so that's why in as much as we want to ramp up as quickly as we can right now we still need to ramp up about three we need to build about 300 classroom and the way that we have been approaching is we only build when there are spaces available to maximize the unused spaces at public schools and to make sure that we have teachers and teacher assistants who are available because we don't want the same issues in the K22 12 programs where we have classes and students and we don't have enough teachers so those are all in line with what we are doing so you know at this point in time um the fact that we
006are working closely with the University of Hawaii we're working with do executive office of early learning and also the private provider so that we're not supplanting and replacing what's going on I think those are the things that we take into consideration good thank you thank you so uh lieutenant governor um how many classrooms early um learning classrooms have you provided so far so so far in the first year we successfully open 11 and then that became 13 and then the second year 44 so 13 + 44 is 50 what is that 7 57 just in the last two years and do you have a a plan for this year do we know how many yes for the next two years we are planning to open another 50 and that's why this bill will provide the
007the teachers and teacher assistance funding to fill the 50 do you get any um feedback from doe as to where there may be empty classrooms that could be utilized this cannot happen without the strong cooperation of the Department of Education in fact we visited a classroom uh kaala Elementary out in waha this morning and the principal was so thankful that thanks to the legislature and thanks to our efforts we were able to open a preschool classroom in his Elementary and he said that you know this is a classroom of 20 and he has a weight list already um of for next year about 49 people apply for just 20 seats wow that's awesome thank you very much for your help in in getting this done because without someone like you at the top of the
008list pushing for it I don't think we'd have as many as we've talk to so far it has been a strong partnership and this is something that um I think every Administration has tried to do and thanks to your efforts thanks to the Joint part parnership we are finally at a place where we are providing huge access for our kids I think it's our efforts cuz it started that fin so thank you so much all right let to testify yuku ARA cross director executive office on early learning hi Cher kidani chair Kim I'm Yuko AO across director of the executive office on early learning we stand in strong support of HB 429 and I'm thankful for for the committee for scheduling this bill eel Works in partnership with the ho Department of Education to administer
00992 public prek classrooms in 74 campuses across the state the funding and positions in this bill will allow e to add in additional 50 classrooms over the next two years and continue our trajectory of growth initiated by the lieutenant Governor's ready K initiative we also want to note that the funding in this bill was also included in the governor's banian budget request we appreciate the legislator's continued investment in our youngest Kiki and their families and respectfully request your support of this funding thank you thank you any questions thank you very much thank you next to testify pj4 hohot chair kadani Vice chair Kim pj4 on behalf of Dr Ed no state public charter school commission uh we stand on our submitted testimony in support of this measure and look forward to working with all the
010offices engaged in this measure to uh further Early Learning opportunities for public education in the state of hoi thank you for your custon PJ questions next to testify Phil Rog and Sophia Howell executive director and interim intern Democratic party of Hawaii Aloha chair Vice chair and members of the committee um I'm Sophia Howell testifying in support of House Bill 429 on behalf of the democratic party of ha and myself the Democratic party of Hawaii strongly supports House Bill 429 because it directly relates to the critical issue of the high cost of living in our state particularly the financial strain put on Working Families by childcare expenses by expanding access to free public preschool education this bill not only prepares young children for future academic success but also promotes long-term economic stability for families who are
011burdened with financial strain as someone who's fortunate enough to attend preschool I can attest to the benefits of early childhood education the guidance of incredible teachers who nurtured my curiosity and creativity gave me the tools I need to succeed in school and in life however roughly half of the children in Hawaii still lack access to preschool and this is creating significant inequality in our state this bill's focus on addressing teacher Staffing shortages and improving classroom environments is crucial to ensuring that all children no matter their family's income have access to high quality Early Education investing in preschool education is an investment in the fure future of Hawaii's children and the future of our state supporting House Bill 429 aligns with the party's values of economic fairness and educational opportunity and we're in strong support of
012this Bill thank you very very well said members questions thank you so much for being here very well said that was very impressive um next to testify elain Yamashita Aloha from Maui chair Vice chair I'm elain yamashta I'm the chair of the Early Learning board and the board stands on its submitted testimony in support of this Mahalo Mahalo elain thank you very much for your testimony questions next to testify osatou Jr not present on Zoom chair in support Hawaii State teachers assoc Association Aloha chair Vice chair SAR milaan on behalf of Hawaii state Teachers Association for ouille St your name again please um Sarah milant Laughin thank you um thank you for bringing this bill to a hearing um just like LG said um we have been in strong support of early learning for a
013very long time um we can tell here's the teachers's view of that as a former third grade teacher I can tell you the kids who've been to prek you can see it in their development you can see it in how they can handle socialization how they can handle their learning skills prek is good for every free child and we're so excited to see that it be expanded also focusing on our Educators who have that early childhood certification because that is a a tricky area to teach as someone who not taught lower than third grade I could not be a prek teacher um so they do really important work and um we are grateful that you're supporting this legislation Mahalo thank you next to testify Christopher Santina principle Hanah high and Elementary School on Zoom no
014one there aloh my name is Chris Sita and I'm honored to submit this testimony and strong support of HB 429 and excuse me thank you so much uh chair Vice chair and members of the committee um on this bill expanding access to early learning by allocating funding for public preschool teachers teachers assistance and necessary classroom equipment and services I am the uh principal of Hanah high and elementary school and in this capacity for the last six years we currently run two preschools on our campus the high cost of child care in Hawaii presents a significant challenge for Working Families many parents are forced to work um to make difficult financial decisions delay career advancements and even leave the workforce due to the lack of affordable preschool options by increasing access to free public preschool education
015this bill would provide crucial relief for families while also ensuring that young children receive a strong Educational Foundation that will support their long-term academic success and career opportunities Mahalo Mahalo very much those questions thank you principal stina is there anyone else here wishing to testify on this measure come forward please state your name Aloha Angela Melody young testifying in strong support um of the Early Childhood priority um to help with services and equipment for building the preschools at Public Schools I think there are Urgent needs in the community as it relates to early childhood education and I'm learning I teach um after school at our Sunday school at our church and actually when I was talking to the County's office which is one of the um partners that works with um the um Network um
016is that churches have very similar facilities designed for um daycare and preschool um related activities and so um you know a lot of the moms and the parents that I talk to um they really care about the nurture um and the level of um quality of teachers um at the schools and so I think what we can do to um strengthen the pipeline for teachers um and to equip them for um a planning of a Statewide strategy for implementation for this early childhood education priority um will prepare students for success and get to Common goals in the community thank you thank you Angela questions members if not is there anyone else here who wishes to testify on this measure let pick a quick recess resuming the committee on education next item on the agenda House
017Bill 133 relating to surfing appropriates funds to the Department of Education to support the establishment of Surfing as an inter Scholastic inter Scholastic sport to testify superintendent Aloha chair kidani and vice chair Kim I'm terima assistant superintendent of the office of of curriculum instruction design uh testifying on behalf of the Department of Education the department stands on its written testimony which provides comments on this measure surfing has been approved by board policy 101-111 the department would defer to each league as to whether they would like to endorse surfing as an inter Scholastic sport thank you for the opportunity to testify thank you Keith Mia chair of Governor Sports task force good afternoon chair kidani Vice chair Kim and members of the Senate education committee I'm Keith Amia and I'm testifying on behalf of the governor's
018Sports task force as its chair in strong support of House Bill 133 as you saw from the testimony submitted there is strong support overwhelming support for high school surfing uh as an official sport and in fact there was no testimony that was submitted in opposition to the testimony the only testimony that didn't support it raised three concerns about surfing and I'll address them real quickly in terms of cost if this bill is passed and high school surfing is funded that won't be an issue in terms of safety the Maui inter Scholastic league has successfully held surfing as as a sport safely for the last 10 years third not all High School principles support surfing but not all High School principles have supported other sports in the past there is strong support from certain High School
019principles including the Hana High School principal who will testify shortly thank you thank you Keith next to testify Beth matsa oh don't be nervous it's only us I'm be Mata Makaha I was a teacher at w i High School um I've been working for the last 10 years to get surfing in the schools and we follow all the safety protocols I work with ocean safety as well I work with nonprofits like Northshore um lifeguards Association nak kamakai and um thing the kids want surfing 5 years ago we only had five oia schools and five Ila schools this year I have 12 oia schools and I have seven ilh schools next year I have three more OA schools coming on and 19 of the ilh schools have said they express an interest in it um biggest
020thing for the oia schools is the cost cuz we are paying for it out of our own Pockets so I paid for all the coach's certification so far um and I paid for equipment so far so if you could fund this bill it would really help thank you and questions thank you next to testify Kylie Leu High School mes surf team is she on Zoom yeah K hello hello thank you chair and vice chair for me testify my name is Kye sat and I am the captain of leul high school surf team I stand by my submitted testimony and support passing HB 133 over the past two years I've seen more interest and growth but it still has been challenging to operate as individual clubs and not as an official oia sport and not getting
021recognition or included like other sports surfing is more than just contests um by passing HP 133 it is a step forward in investing in us and giving us an opportunity to connect our passion to our school expose us to career opportunities increase ocean safety and create ocean stewards that Embrace hav culture and history now and for a lifetime and your support and resources matter and will make a big difference thank you so much thank you Kylie next to testify Kim ball Maui inter Scholastic League surfing on Zoom Kim hi hello aloha Senator kadani and Senator Kim and members of the Senate education committee my name is Kim ball and I'm strongly in favor of HP 133 we had our first MERS classic League Surf contest for this season this past Saturday north of Lina DT
022Fleming beach park we have had mil surfing since 2014 we've never had a serious injury we had 12 high schools competing with 93 stud student athlet surfing in 30 Heats over 8 and a half hours on Saturday and our two athletic trainers on site reported one small Kut one small cut on a foot I testified at the house finance committee hearing recently and since I've been the volunteer organizer organizer of milil Surfing since the beginning and organized 19 years of high school club surfing prior to that I'm just here to answer any questions that you may have thank you Kim next Christopher Sanita Hanah high and Elementary School on Zoom hoha Aloha thank you chair Vice chair and members of the committee again my name is Chris Sanita and um I'm really in favor of
023HB 133 um as an educator and advocate of student opportunities and the principal of Hanah Elementary School this bill is critical and in recognizing surfing's cultural social and economic significance while ensuring Equitable access to student athletes across the leagues surfing is deeply rooted in Hawaii's history and identity serving not only as a recreational activity but also as an integral part of native Hawaii culture recognizing this the Hawaii Department of Education the board sanctioned serving as an official sport in 2016 Beyond its cultural l and social value surfing is a major economic driver on the state wise reputation as a world class destination for surfing um annually visitors come and visit I firsthand seed the competition and the strategy and the camaraderie of our students it is highly valuable and that's why I I support it
024100% as the principal of Hanah high and Elementary School Mahalo thank you Christopher next to testify kristlyn Simpson Connie on Zoom is krin there chrislin you have to unmute yourself kren she's there but her volume isn't working or something yeah she's trying to Kristen we'll come back to you why don't you try and uh fix your issue there cuz we can't hear you but she is in support next to testify Sarah Fairfield executive director Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation hello can you hear hi thank you I'm I'm uh testifying on behalf of the Outrigger Duke Hoku foundation in favor HB 133 this bill is really about getting the funding extra kick needed to help our Public School clubs get up and running to meet the league minimum thresholds in order to hold tournaments and then once
025three tournaments are held and and Maui is already holding one uh then hhs's bylaws will um mandatorily affect a Statewide tournament so we're supporting this because as we are working to um sustain Duke kahanamoku's Legacy we want to help increase the level of competition in water sports all around we also think that this is a matter of equity because it will give a lot more kids the access to learn our official state sport um and to paraphrase something Dwayne doto said recently we in Hawaii we sell this dream to the rest of the world about all the wonderful things you can do in the ocean surfing being probably the main thing people think of when they think of Hawaii but so many kids aren't getting the chance to do those things kids that are born
026and raised here so please consider this Bill thank you thank you next to testify Ty Simpson Connie also on Zoom not president un Zoom chair thank you his testimony was in support is there any yes uh krlin are you still there kren kren I'm still having audio issues I guess you were not able to fix your audio issues Kristen um yeah I'm sorry we can't hear your testimony but uh her testimony is in support of House Bill 133 are there any additional testifiers present who want to testify Angela Angela Melody young cares in strong support um of the appropriation of funds for surfing at schools um surfing can help um with health to strengthen us and to teach about balance um on a surfboard so um and we're living in Hawaii so it's something passed
027down um from the previous Hawaiian culture um and so we should appreciate it um for the value of um the lessons it teaches us and also um the funding mechanism um I think was debated about in the previous hearings I think if the schools can find Partnerships and sponsorships from for example financial institutions or nonprofits and organizations that have a lot of financial assets and resources to contribute to the planning um it can really help with a lot of um solutions for surfing at schools thank you thank you Angela that concludes our testifiers members questions can I ask um [Music] Terry I have I'm reading your testimony about concerns that um you state about um on aahu surfing's not been proposed by the league and despite the success mil has demonstrated waho remains concerns about
028significant risk factors so in addition to the cost asking for can you elaborate on what these risk factors are and the cost might you Associated and also about um why surfing's not been proposed by the leag sure okay I'll um Bryce okay uh my name is Bryce keser I'm the extracurricular administrator for the Department of Ed I'm also the oia executive director so um when regards to some of the concerns I think I think you've heard it from others one is safety um one is also the liability of the insurance especially when it it comes to the open water it's the also the because just ask you in between so is it because cuzz all sports have liability right I mean all sports have risk but what is it like because it's the ocean that
029has higher yes it's the open ocean it's um there's Mother Nature factors that we're not you know really comfortable with and again this is all we're not saying no but this is things that are are the um I guess things that that that prevent from the from people bringing it up um but we are exploring I we're getting some people from suring Community to propose things to us and to see how we can uh you know solve those problems but as of right now uh we haven't had any principle tell us to proposed to uh surfing as a sport also um um I think practices on aahu might be um an area of concern to be able to safely practice um some schools um you know they they're not so close to locations where they
030might be able to do team practices um I'm not as familiar with um how the clubs work now but um I've been told at least one of the clubs the students they practice on their own time and they only show up together for the meets and and they participate that way so in in um a San that's not normally allowed in our sanction Sports yeah you would have uh a practice with a coach and you'd have to follow and we have regulations that um mil is already following so we would be following that as well is this um would you be teaching would would if we pass something like this um because I've been hearing okay you know um would allow students who don't know anything about surfing but this is not is like football
031right you got to have some skills before you can even correct the team that's part of the um concerns when it came to like so what if so what there's some student that comes as a beginner Surfer but uh we've heard from the uh surfing community that most of these people that are competing are junior lifeguard certified so that's again this is stuff that we're just learning in the past few months so um I don't think it would be one of those where you can just come out and try it out yeah it would you would have to be pretty um drown proof you know like you you got to be pretty comfortable in the water to be going into surfing to say this but when I was younger I used to Surf my uncle
032had a surf for concessional Wy key so um but I'm not a good Sur I wasn't a good Surfer um so there's a lot of support for this obviously and in the community have you had anybody step up like the Amia step up to raise funds for our for this for this whole purpose I mean you know when it comes to funds uh whenever you're introducing a new sport the first thing that we would need um from the legislature is the coaches salaries uh both head coaches as well as assistant coaches and and that's something that uh Cann of be raised from you you know yearly basis from just Corporation sponsorships it would be something that right but that would help help the legislation as far as the budget wise because again I'm not even
033sure the insurance what we have to take out we're self-insured right so we as o is insured so we would go into a we would ask our insurance to see what and uh I've spoke to them already so they said we just have to lay out what our plans would be and they would give us a cost to that they didn't give us any idea what it might be uh not yet because we haven't I haven't uh we haven't got to the point of what it was going to look like yeah see it's hard for us to make decisions without KN some of these going to be answers so um we'll probably end up deferring this for now if we can't get that information soon um it would be helpful what would be the specific
034information that you would need the entire what the cost is the budget would be the budget would be you know um has oia talked to anybody within the doe as to how they would bring about uh starting this program uh how many how many um certified lifeguards you would need at a practice what kind of you know I guess that's where Keith comes in yeah home so um and then equipment wise I mean would they students bring in their own boards they have to be school equipment boards or um I you know there's a lot of a lot of stuff and then if they get hurt on on school equipment um I think as um talking with some principles I think that's part of their hesitancy um just the unknown and because it is like
035a a water sport and the ocean conditions but I think um in terms of when we do athletics we normally provide equipment and um we that way we can sure that those who uh should be participating will have that opportunity and then you have to transport all the equipment unlike I me the surfboards are kind of big right to I mean it would be how many on a team would you know that um from what we've been presented before I can really go by with what was presented to me at uh once um there was three contests the long board short board and the boogie board and they were three per gender on the long board and shortboard and it was um co-ed on the the boogie board uh and so you could you could
036have one Surfer do all three or you could have 15 different people uh doing it so I mean that's just the people who are participating not the people who are and who are um you know on the side or you know that that are not participating and again this is just one person who told me I'm not there are a lot of people the way they run I'm not sure how Maui runs it uh I'm not sure um how other clubs run it but this is just one person that m Molly is a inter elastic Le in itself yes right and and so I know in your testimony you're saying that Wahu has has different concerns as Maui or different issues so uh the principles have not um brought it up as a suggested inter
037Scholastics board and another thing is um like when you have football you can charge people to come to observe some of the outdoor sports that happen at the you know with water um would be really challenging I think to um bring in some Revenue funding help support it thank you m thank you for the question just just a comment I mean all these questions can be talked to by the Maui inter Scholastic league and find out all the concerns that we have I mean they kind of I know W is different than Mai for sure but um just on a basis we could get all those answers from what milil is doing right I we could we could ask them for like for like the lifeguards and everything yeah um I think uh you could
038ask Kim ball we can also um and um it's I know that um our previous um director ra fuino he has had some conversations um many conversations earlier um so um we will look at doing that further make sure you you have this full discussion before you come back to us and and ask us so I can ask some answer some questions I'm still here Kim ball yeah we'll get to that but I think that a longer discussion is needed and you guys need to iron out some of the concerns raised okay okay thank you thank you okay I'm told that a testifier chrislin Simpson Connie has fixed microphone and would like to testify krena can you hear me yes yes ala honorable members of the senate committee on education my name is Kristen K
039Simpson con but many people call me I'm a native Hawaiian competitive Surfer Born and Raised on the NorthShore of Maui in a town called Kua I'm currently a senior and captain for the surf team at King Kik High School on the island of Maui surfing is more than just a sport to me it is my Heritage my way of life and my passion I started surfing before I could even walk and by the age of three I was already competing over the years suring has shaped me into the person I am today I am proud to have earned the title of Hawaii State girls 14 15 state champion and I was ranked fourth in the nation for girl shortboarding in 2022 I have also had the honor of becoming the youngest female to Surf P
040Jaws an iconic big wave spot here in M I have won two mil individual female surf titles for K high school and recently claimed the inaugural 2024 Honua inter Scholastic finals World Cup for the individual female surf division in 2022 Midway through my 10th grade year I decided to fully enroll at Kink Kik High School from being homeschooled this decision was largely influenced by my experiences on the K surf team which I joined in 2021 through my homeschool program HTA being a part of the surf team was transformative it wasn't just about the surfing it was about bu building camaraderie learning leadership and connecting with peers who share my passion surfing is a sport that was born here in Havi it is part of our culture our history and our identity as a native wine
041I'm proud to be a part of the lineage of surfers who have shared the sport with the world however despite its deep cultural Roots here in Havi surfing is not fully recognized or supported as a high school sport across the state that is why HB 133 is so critical for the future of surfing in hav we need this bill to pass we need funding to provide the necessary resources for high school surf teams we need it for students like me who have dedicated Our Lives to surfing and are striving to achieve at the highest levels but lack the resources and support to do so surfing requires year round training travel and Equipment all of which come with significant costs without proper funding many students are unable able to compete at their full potential this bill
042will not only support current High School Surfers but will also help preserve and promote surfing for future Generations HB 133 is a step toward recognizing surfing as a legitimate High School Sport and providing our youth with the opportunities they need to thrive please recognize the importance of passing this bill surfing is hav Sport It Is What Makes Us unique and what continues to draw people from all over the world by passing HB 133 your investing in our future in the future of Surfing and in the future of our Cy children who deserve to have the resources to pursue their dreams just like I did Mahalo for your time and consideration I humbly ask for your support in passing HB 133 to ensure that surfing is given the recognition funding and support it deserves in our
043schools throughout hav thank you Christ thank you okay moving on to our next item House Bill 961 hg1 relating to education establishes and appropriates funds for a 2-year librarian pilot project to serve one school complex on aahu and one school complex on an island other than aahu to testify superintendent Aloha chair Vice chair and members of the committee at Terry Jima assistant superintendent from the office of curriculum and instructional design testifying on behalf of the Department of Education the dep Department stands on its written testimony which provides comments on this measure the department wishes to point out the challenges it may encounter in hiring a certified librarian and hopes that any Appropriations does not adversely affect the Department's Governor approved budget thank you for the opportunity to testify thank you next to testify Benjamin B
044not here next to testify Osa Tui Jr president of Hawaii State teachers Foundation Association aloh chair and vice chair santaan on behalf of the Hawaii state Teachers Association we were really excited to see this bill come forward I'm going to speak as my experience as a middle school teacher um I was very surprised to learn that um only 28% of Hawaii schools have a certified librarian and as a teacher um when I got to my school I was trying to do a lesson on wayfaring so I wanted to go talk to the librarian to ask for what recommended books she had or websites or resources and I found out my school doesn't have a librarian um a lot of schools don't because principles tell us it's cheaper to hire someone to just scan the books
045and hand them to the kids and actually have a library science major on staff and these are people who are Library science Majors have extra skills you have a master's degree um you are really able to curate the selection because as a teacher I don't have time to research what's the newest books out or the best way to teach a certain subject especially in this digital age of misinformation um and AI we need Library science people in our libraries the kids deserve it please support next to testify Mera gude on Zoom Aloha aala for this opportunity to testify my name is miru testifying in support uh I'd like to take this opportunity to draw attention to a related Bill HB 962 just to see if language from that bill could be included on this bill
046uh HB 962 has really valuable information about the positive impact of school librarians on student learning and also the current inequity of access for students that live on our neighbor islands where there are very few school librarians if it is easy to add language from that bill to this one the information I referring to uh in HB 962 is everything on page one and lines 1 through two on page two Mahala for your consideration thank you Miro is there anyone else here wishing to testify on this measure if not moving on question question um do do we know or do you know the intent of the introducer on how many Librarians we're talking about um CU it's blank in the bill yeah uh I believe it's two two cert certified Librarians so with two certified
047Librarians how me listening to the testimony from everyone seems as though they believe that they're going to each have a librarian in their school is that possible with two certified Librarians so um my understanding of this bill is that it would be a a pilot where you would have one um certified librarian that helps a complex for example Moanalua a complex is a high school middle and the feeder Elementary School number of schools and so one would be on Oahu one complex and another would be on a neighbor Island and how would that work that you have one for our complex on the a lot of school so they would um go and help the schools as needed they might do some collective um training or follow up you're talking about one one one yeah
048one for the complex would be servicing the schools the elementary middle um I think wlo would be six probably but if it were like rodford complex coming from im1 Radford um it would be more like nine so it could vary depending on how many schools are in the comp is ever Beach cuz I always hear my colleague from ever Beach about how his school has no librarian at all so so how would how would that work there's schools that do not have Librarians um there's I think um when we looked at our numbers was it let me find that page it's um we have um J like I think eight like six don't only have 80 something Librarians we have 60 certified Librarians and then 14 non-certified Librarians across the state and the rest of
049the schools are um serviced with either like part-time teachers or teachers that were multiple hats so you say non-certified who is that so they'd be like a teacher without their Library degree but they're a teacher that's in the library position okay and the cost for that would be would be like a teacher um as the certified Librarians are still part of um the bargaining unit five so I went to library school so I have a library degree also um so you going to apply for this that was my dream after being a classroom teacher my plan was to be a school librarian um so maybe my next job um um but it's um really when we go to library school it's a it's at least a two-year program it's a master's program you you learn
050cataloging you learn information science but they the pay for a certified librarian is more than no it's it's I believe it's still the same it's just that if it's like if another teacher had a master's degree and something else they would still follow the same Pace scale I just is it harder to get a certified librarian then it is because um um our informal inquiry into the University Library school there's very few graduates now going into school library there's different kinds of library but School library because um there's not as many positions it's not as in demand I think those who went to library school might be choosing different types of that's one of your concerns you raised yes and it um when we do the teacher hiring process because they're considered part of that
051pool um that's happening right now so um by the time we know in summer um we would have to go off a new hire list and we don't know if there are certified Librarians within that pool although um we never know you know there might be people who apply knowing this could happen thank you thank you question why couldn't the C the current certified Librarians do a rotating schedule already um in these complexes or are they set for the position on that specific school they are hired at that school so it's um possible to make maybe if they were to be temporarily assigned I guess um to do something like this and backfill their school but that means their school would not have a certified librarian then I mean it be better I mean the
052other school obviously doesn't have a certified librarian so this could help offset I mean this is basically doing that right having a rotating schedule for a pilot for one position on W and one position on neighbor Island okay thank you thank you thank you four one okay moving on to House Bill 754 HD2 relating to Community Schools appropriate funds to the Department of Education for Community Schools and a program manager position to testify superintendent Aloha chair Vice chair members of the committee I'm Elizabeth OSI the assistant superintendent of the office of strategy Innovation performance testifying on behalf of the department the department stands on its written testimony providing comments on this measure the department supports the benefits of Community Schools but requests that any Appropriations does not adversely affect the Department's Governor approved budget thank
053you so much for the opportunity to testify thank you Paula Adams executive director Hawaii after school Alliance hi CH Kik CH MIM and paa Adams with after school Alliance and uh as you know the Community Schools function as the Hub of the community where Community Resources are coordinated to support the needs of the the kids and the families and I wanted to share some examples of the 26 schools that are using this strategy to support the students one is example about the partnership with community members is the Hawaii school for the death of the blind when the students have been dorming on campus coming from the other islands and for the last 20 20 years they have they only were able to receive cold meals for dinner but thanks to the partnership with community members
054they are now receiving hot meals for dinners the other example is dull middle schools where they also thank for the partnership with different community members and the schools administrators their regular attendance language arts proficiency math proficiency and science proficiency has increased from uh the last year to this year H lastly we also sharing the written testimony and the principal at Mount alua Elementary School also presented testimony in front of the Board of Education about how the regular attendance at school can in has increased inre H dramatically from the the school year 2022 2023 to 2023 to 2024 with attendance also came that increase in language arts proficiency increasing from thir 133% to 32% and math went from 6% to 32% the last example that I wanted to share with you is about cow High School
055where I talked to the principal this morning where she where she shared that last year the graduation rate for high school students was of 90 95% so these examples are showing how Community Schools partnering with community members are helping and supporting the needs of the kids and the families thank you for supporting this Bill thank you Paulo next to testify herley Jr president and CEO Pacific American Foundation aloha aloha chair and vice chair and member k um I submitted my testimony and I just want to say that I'm one of the community nonprofit organizations that provide uh Community School support for specifically Walo Elementary intermediate andamana on the island of aahu and um I believe that you know it is a great program it's a great investment for our schools um and that uh most
056of it is focused on schools with the highest needs but I hope eventually it'll be something that every Community can have because I think it's a great investment in terms of building relationships that are just not focused only on money but on other issues that to can bring resources to help in The Learning Journey of both the teacher families and and students I'd be happy to answer any questions that you might have than you question thank you thank you next to testify Osa Tui jrti Teachers Association hello hot chair and vice chair San laugh and on behalf of HSA true Community Schools are magical places where everyone cares about kids it gets a community invested it gets the kids invested you see better success for healthy eating you see better success on social emotional learning
057um they are really all schools should have a goal of being Community Schools um our parent Union the National Education Association gives examples of Community Schools becoming a place where students can get um eyeglasses if they need it or medical evaluations or families can get resources for food banks or clothing and um really as we come to a place where we know some of our families are hurting Community Schools are going to be the answer to help out our Kiki please support this measure thank you Ryan yanii director Department of Human Services chair Vice chair committee members Aloha my name is Katherine kinaga Department of Human Services on behalf of director Ryan yammani and the department stands on its written testimony of support thank you thank you is anyone else here wishing to testify on
058this B go forward St your name Alani Vice chair marato Kim and Senator kuha my name is Erica nakanishi Stannis I am the advocacy director for Hawaii kids can we're here in strong support of House Bill 754 given the seismic shifts that we're seeing at the federal level we need to bolster our local capacity to take care of ourselves when I meet with teachers even yesterday at the Counseling and Advising convening teachers often tell me and counselors that they either don't know of the resources out there or they don't have time to vet them find the best option build and maintain relationships to take advantage of those opportunities there's a wealth of people out there who want to support our schools but if we don't invest in coordinating that abundance by paying for it it
059becomes a burden on teachers and schools or worse a gap for our students to fall through so thank you for your consideration of this of this motion and the opportunity to testify thank you members questions is there anyone else here wishing to testify on this measure Aloha Angela Melody young testifying in strong support of the Community Schools um so um Community Schools from um The Limited understanding that I do have of it um I attended one of the hearings with the ho after school Alliance um as um we are registered with the database um cares our after school program which operates from our church um so I think the goal is to create a network um and to get parents after school program leaders um students to collaborate to share resources to get to Common
060goals um and above and beyond the the um standardized test scores to improve um the skill set um and the engineering and the students studying harder um I think it will really help get together people um to create Partnerships um to support each other yeah and to get to Common goals thank you thank you Angela anyone else here wishing to testify this speci thank you just want to make a one statement when you come and testify and your department and you say that you support something as long as it doesn't affect the priorities for your department think about it the money's got to come from somewhere okay so if you're going to support something you know you shouldn't put that into your testimony and not just you a lot of departments do that but if
061it's really good then we should have it whether you know it should be part of the budget but it's got to come somewhere so I just hope everybody knows whenever you ask for these programs and if it's not part of the original budget that has got to come out of some part of the pie it doesn't just appear so just keep that in mind as we go forward because that's what we have to do so we don't like to say no but then when we have to add it all up like in your house when you have to do your budget something has to give right if you add something new to your budget so keep that in mind so if thee really wants this then something on your budget might get cut for it
062just keep that in mind so thank you and to follow up with that you know also going through this I mean this is sure it could be a governor um priority but these are going through the legislature right now and these might be legisla priorities that we um feel is necessary for all these different departments so saying that I did have a question for do though yes um in terms of you know CSI MRI schools you know some of the requirements are engaging with Community right correct why doesn't all the schools engage with community that is something that all of our schools do but for our CSI MRI schools this was a required model that we required them to take on as part of their action plans and so funding that goes along with CSI
063MRI schools was specifically allocated for them to implement this model okay so there are many different strategies that our schools utilize to engage community and this is just one of those strategies thank you thank you so we're on House Bill 1437 HD2 relating to the general excise tax exemptions establish is a general ex tax exemption on the gross proceeds of gross income received from sales of Commodities or services that benefit nonprofit schools to testify Gary suganuma director of [Music] Taxation good afternoon chair Vice chair members of committee Clinton Piper Department of Taxation uh just just have some supplement to our written comments that would be the revenue impact uh for 2026 we're looking at a potent estimated loss of 0.4 million 0.9 million in years 2027 28 29 and 30 with a 1 million loss
064in 31 thank you other than that I will stand up Tom yamach tax Foundation good afternoon chair and members of the committee this is Jade McMillan on behalf of the TA Foundation of Hawaii we've submitted comments on the measure um our comments uh include uh mention of a similar legislative effort uh to remove the G from fundraising uh fundraising for or profit that legislation was red by Governor eay so there is some question as to how this bill would really take out and we also wonder why at the nonprofit schools would get a treatment special special treatment than other organizations thank you Bill boser executive director Hawaii Association of Independent Schools kadani Vice chair Kim Senator K uh I'm Phil boser executive director of hisis and we stand in very strong support of this bill
065and we stand on our U testimony just want to clarify several things one public school fundraisers are already tax exempt um uh under the law and almost all of the funding that is raised from these nonprofit I mean these fundraisers that schools run are just another form of a donation uh the people who come to the fundraisers are parents and aunties and uncles of the students and and so instead of making writing a check and making a donation which would be tax exempt um they're showing up as a form of engagement at the school and uh and buying stuff they don't really want and eating food they don't really like in order to support the school so uh we do really uh would like the same treatment that you are providing to the public schools
066thank you thank you there questions is there anyone else here wishing to testify on this measure Aloha Angela Melody young cares um in strong support of public school fundraisers and tax exemption for it um I actually studied this at The paty Mink YWCA business leadership course um so it's really helpful and I um think the way I interpret it without distorting um the Bill's intention is that um it's going to be very helpful to those who are in um public schools which are generally middle class marginalized low-income communities and so to create cre an exemption is really helpful for them um to create that Equity by legislation and also um nonprofits who don't um have to pay additional taxes and have a tax exemption I think is um generally because nonprofits have um operations to
067fund charity work and so if we consider all of these things um and to be as helpful as possible to get the funding um exemptions for middle- class families and low-income families it'd be really nice thank you thank you hello hot chair and vice chair Sarah Milan laan on behalf of HSA um just being honest with the federal situation happening right now um we're going to be struggling to pay for services um seeing that I'm a title one teacher I'm already scared for what that means for my school and my kids so it's really not the right time to give private school's a tax break to be honest and that um right with the uncertainty that we're already facing especially with the private school abandonment of public schools that is already happening and we really
068have to consider this and we oppose this thank you thank you questions anyone else are wishing to testify on this measure going to recess reconvening committee on education decision making we have looking at House Bill 429 we're going to pass with amendments and defect the date to July 1 2050 members comments questions okay so decision on HB 429 house draft one to pass with amendments chair kidani I Vice chair vsai Senator Hashimoto Senator can Senator Dort hi five eyes recommendation is adopted House Bill 133 HD2 relating to surfing recommendation is to the same defect the date to July Pass with defecting the date to July 1 2015 so just to make a statement that you know the committee really struggled on this measure because the whole purpose of the measure is to appropriate funds so
069we're considering taking off the funds and just sanctioning it as a sport but again the bill is spefic it appropriates funds so uh we're going to pass that on to ways and means to look at the funding but at this point if you guys don't cannot come up with the funding and give us something more concrete um it's unlikely that funds funds will be appropriate and to you iron out all the issues um but so we will defect the date and send the two ways and means just so that just to be clear we're not objecting to this boort of and that be sorry and that's I mean four of us are on ways and means so we're going to ask for a lot of that information when it does come to the committee if
070it does pass all this thank you okay recommendation is to pass with amendments HB 133 house draft two is there anyone here um voting with reservations anyone voting no hearing none five members present recommendation to pass with amendments is adopted thank you house 961 HD1 relating to education this is for the 2-year library and pilot program recommendation of the chair is to pass with amendments and defect the date to July 1 2015 okay any member voting no on House Bill 961 house draft one with amendments any member voting with reservation hearing none five members present all vote I recommendations adopted House Bill 754 HD2 relating to Community School recommendation of the chair is to defer objections House Bill 1437 HD2 relating to General excise tax exemptions recommendation of the chair is to defer thank you
071there any objections then e