Senate Standing Committee on Education

Good afternoon and welcome to the Committee on Education. Today is Monday, March 102025. It's 3:00pm and the Education Committee is in room 229. First on our agenda is House Bill 622 relating to the Department of Education.

This bill changes the due date of the Department of Education's computer science legislative report from June 30 to 20 days prior to the start of each legislative regular session. And this is effective 713000 to testify.

Superintendent Aloha, Chair Kidani, Vice Chair Kid Kim and Members of the Committee. I'm Teri Ushijima representing the Department of Education from the Office of Curriculum Instructional Design. The Department stands on its written testimony in support of this measure. And thank you for the opportunity to testify. Thank you.

Is there anyone else here wishing to testify on this measure? If not Members, any questions? Yes, Terry.

Terry, didn't we pass this bill on the Senate version and didn't we put. The date is October, I think.

Yeah. We are planning to submit it. Submit the report by the end of October or sooner. So that's part of our plan.

Yeah. Why surprising your testimony? You didn't mention that because. So you're okay if we. Yes. Put the Senate version into this bill?

Yes, we. We are planning to do that anyway. Thank you. Go straight ahead.

Is there any further testifiers for House Bill 622? No further questions.

Members, we are moving on to House Bill 1065, HD 1, relating to Early Childhood Educator Special Fund. Requires stipend funds paid by a stipend recipient under the Hawaii Early Childhood Educator Stipend Fund Program to be deposited into the Early Learning Special Fund repeals at Hawaii Early Childhood Education—Educator—Special Fund, effective 7-1-3000. Is there anyone here to testify?

Sorry.

Yuko Arikoa Cross from Executive Office on Early Learning.

Hi, Chair Kidani, Vice Chair Kim, and Senator Hashimoto. I'm Yuko Arikoa Cross, Director of the Executive Office on Early Learning. We are in strong support of HB 1065, and I thank the Committee for hearing the Bill. This Committee previously heard and passed out the Senate companion to this Bill, SB 1384.

There are no substantive differences between the two measures, but in their current form, both vehicles contain defective effective dates. We respectfully request that the Committee consider amending the effective date for this housekeeping to upon approval and thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you. Next to testify, Elaine Yamashita, Early Learning Board.

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, Senator Hashimoto. I'm Elaine Yamashita, I'm—aloha from Maui. And the Early Learning Board stands on its testimony. Mahalo.

Thank you. Is there anyone else here wishing to testify in this measure? If not, Members, questions? Question for Yuko. What are some of the reasons for the return of the stipend?

So, there's a requirement from stipend recipients to complete the program and to give back after the graduation, but sometimes people have had different challenges with completing the program for different reasons, family reasons or something else. And we've had a few cases where people are not able to continue their schooling for various reasons.

And so, we request that they pay back the funds.

How much stipends have been repaid today?

Have been repaid—so, we've been collecting actually since we came here for the Senate Bill. And I can get that number for you.

And do you have a total of how much should be repaid?

Yes, we know the exact dollar amount, but I can get both of those for you. The total amount, it was, at the last calculation, it was, it was less—it was maybe $20,000 or $30,000.

Thank you. Questions? Thank you. Okay, Next on the agenda, House Bill 904 HD1 relating to charter schools, repeals the requirement for the board of education to annually report to the Legislature, Governor and the public on public charter schools effective 713000.

Good evening.

To testify, PJ4 Public Charter School Commission.

Yes, in place of PJ. Good afternoon, Senator Kadani, Chair Kim and Senator Canujo. Ed Note, Charter School Commission Executive Director. And we stand on our written testimony. Thank you.

Thank you, Captain Pole, Executive Director, Board of Education Capson.

I'm on Zoom. Good evening, Chair Kidani, Vice Chair Kim, and Senator, I'm Capsin Poy, Executive Director of the board. The board does stand on our written testimony in support, and we thank the Committee for hearing this measure. We do believe it eliminates duplication in reporting while still maintaining transparency and accountability.

Thank you, Captain. Members, questions? I have questions. Captain. If the board of education doesn't do its own review of the charter school Commission's annual report, who is the board expecting to do the review?

Well, Senator, we think that, you know, the charter Commission already does produce a pretty comprehensive annual report, and the board actually does look at that when it does produce its own report. I think maybe another way to look at it is how the board engages with the Commission and exercises that oversight.

One of the ways the board is looking to do that is the board's already starting to have the Commission appear before the board for updates and discussion and monitoring. And we Think that's a way to provide some additional oversight which goes beyond the report? I think so.

You. The board doesn't have any concerns with this measure then?

Senator, the board is supportive right now. We do think that right now, as it is, the Commission does do its report and the board does. Many of the things that are in the Commission's report are also put in the board's report. And like.

Like we said, it's sort of duplicating the efforts of two agencies who are basically reporting some of the same information.

Thank you. Then would the board then, after review, send a report to the Legislature, or could they. Yeah. Would they continue to do that?

Well, Senator, I mean, we. We could, if that were your ask. I think the way the bill is laid out is we would.

I think the preferred option would be that the Commission submits its report, and that would be the report on charter education in our state, with the board providing some additional oversight and discussion and engagement at its own Board Meetings.

So if there were no report back to the Legislature from the board of education, how would we address any concerns or transparency concerns that the board may have?

Well, Senator, I think, you know, we are. The board, I think, is committed to trying to engage with this Committee especially, but the Legislature generally, meaning the report, is not the only way to have discussions on important public education policies and matters throughout the state.

And we would hope that we could continue to engage either here during hearings in our Senate Education Committee, at community meetings and at other venues. And. And again, just. We. We think that there are a lot of opportunities to have public engagement, public discussion, and to get some of the information and issues discussed.

Many of the issues that the board cites in its charter report are similar to the issues that the rest of our public schools, meaning Department schools, face as far as funding, staffing and facilities.

Senator Kim has a question.

Yes. So right now, Capstan, when you folks review the report from the charter schools, do you folks give any guidance or do you do anything? What do you do after you folks review their report?

Thank you, Senator. Not everyone's interested in digging into the weeds with us there, so thank you for letting us kind of.

I don't want you to dig in the weeds, but give me an idea.

No, yeah, we'll. We'll try and take a high level view. Basically what we do is we start with the Commission's report and the way the statute is set up, it does require reporting to be slightly different. It's the same information, but it has to be sort of reconfigured.

And actually, that's where I'd say most of our time is. An effort is spent.

Okay, but when you. I'm not talking about the reporting. I'm talking about. What do you do after you review the report? Nothing. You just tell us about it. Is that it? You folks don't.

Zero, sorry, Senator. The board does. The biggest thing the board does is in its report is add some fiscal data to it.

Do you. Do you. Do you give any. Any feedback to the charter. Charter Commission on their report?

Sorry for misunderstanding the question. Yes. Or I mean, I should say yes. In the past, when. When the board has believed that feedback was necessary. In the past, the board has pointed out areas of concern. It's been a little while since the board has had some major concerns.

And I think, you know, we've all been trying to work to coordinate and align our efforts so to basically avoid having to say those things in reports and just be able to work other. For the benefit of our Keiki.

Thank you. So, charter Commission, do you folks send your report into the ledge?

Yes.

You do? You send in your report and then BOE sends in their report?

Yes. Okay. Annually before the start of session.

So would it be as a compromise perhaps, where when the board of education reviews the report that you would just send to the Legislature, we have. Or send back to. Back to the Commission that the board of education has reviewed this.

We have no concerns at this time, or we have reviewed this and we feel d d d. Then you would take that, and then you would submit that along with your report to the Legislature page? Yeah. Does that make one? I don't know. Is that.

Does that take care of the constraints that maybe we would have to make sure that it's being reviewed and. I think so. So maybe we can amend this to something like that? Yes. I'm just trying to find a way to that. We don't duplicate it yet, but we're assured that the board reviewed it.

And if there were concerns that you did bring it up to them, and then you would take your report and say, this is the BOE's report. So we would get it in one.

Who besides the Legislature receives it?

So we send it to the board. Legislature and the, uh, college libraries receive a copy and other state agencies that require either a hard copy or electronic, but those would be the major ones.

Thank you. Further questions. Thank you, Ed.

Thank you. Thank you.

House Bill 620 relating to education.

This establishes a state policy to promote braille literacy for eligible blind students, requires the individualized education programs and Section 504, plans of eligible blind students to include the assessment and evaluation of eligible blind students, reading and writing abilities, instruction of braille, and provision of braille instructional materials under certain circumstances requires the Department of Education to establish a Braille literacy resource center.

To testify, Superintendent.

Aloha Chair Kidani, Vice Chair Kim and Members of the Committee. My name is Kina O'Gardner. I'm the Assistant Superintendent for the Office of Student Support Services, and I'm here testifying on behalf of the Department of Education. We stand on our written testimony which provides comments on this measure.

The Department supports the intent of this measure, but is proposing amendments as outlined in our written testimony. Testimony that would ensure the measure is fully inclusive and accurately reflects all students who have Low vision or are blind, and that the language describing individualized educational plans accurately reflect federal guidelines.

Additionally, the Department recognizes that carrying out the mandates of this measure would require resources. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you. Next to testify, Katie Kim. Aloha. Move to your left. Behind you a little bit more. There's a chair right there. Thank you.

There it is. Mahalo for listening to my testimony today and holding this hearing regarding the Bill.

I stand in strong support of this Bill, having at one time worked as an independent with Department of Education as an instructor as well as an advocate with the National Federation of Blind, working with professional parents and blind children in their individualized educational plans.

The Bill addresses directly the need for evaluation of the students blind and Low vision. One of the biggest occurrences I saw is if the student had any amount of vision, then large print was used.

And can you imagine having a stack of papers with only one or two letters on each paper that would be the size of the point of the font so that the student could read it. But there would be no way that anybody could keep up with their classmates or their schoolwork with that kind of large print.

If they had Braille and they learned it early on, they could continue to learn and excel in their school and meet some of their own personal dreams and aspirations and eventually go on to higher education and quality work. My blindness itself came when I was an adult. I did learn braille. I use it.

But I was a print reader until I was 36. But I have seen the effects of students when they're young if they don't learn braille early. I just really believe this is an important measure. And thank you very much for listening to my concerns and my testimony. Mahalo. Thank you, Katie. Member questions? Thank you.

And I'm open for questions.

Thank you, Katie. Next to testify, Marie Kauthoft. Thank you. Marie, please.

Hi, my name is Marie Kauthoft, and good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Chair, and Committee Members. Thank you for hearing me. I'm here in strong support of HB 620 as well. I stand on my written testimony, and I kind of wanted to add a little bit of what Katie was saying, and I think we've talked about this.

So 25 years ago, in 2000, I was a part of getting the Braille Literacy act passed in New York State. And our work is never done right. We always need to try to improve, to get better.

I think one of the things about the resistance in teaching Braille is the idea, or the prevailing idea that braille is difficult, but Braille is just like any other skill, right?

So, like, how many people in this room right now, and this is stupid, because I'm not going to be able to see your head nodding or your hands raising, but how many people in this room know their way around a keyboard? See, I took. I took typing. Probably four or five raised their hands.

So in ninth grade, I took typing, all right? Just, you know, it was an elective that I chose to take. And this was the protocol. You sat up straight. They were stricter back then, right? You sat up straight, you put your hands on your home row keys, and you had to memorize the home row keys, right? Okay.

A, S, D, F, J, K, lsm. And then you had to memorize the corresponding letters that connected to that finger. And then Mr. Nyland, in the front of my ninth grade class, would turn on the record player while we had to stare straight ahead to the blackboard, and we would do drills. Okay?

What does this have to do with Braille? Inadvertently, Mr. Nyland taught an entire class of sighted kids how to type blind. I didn't know it at the time, right? And I'm telling you what, I challenge any of you for a duel on a keyboard. I am fast, okay?

And I'm fast because in ninth grade, I took one class, and if you think about it, right, that was just a tactile skill. It was literally taking the language and turning it into my fingertips. That's what Braille can do for our kids, right? And there's something else, just a little quick pet peeve that Mr. Nyland did.

He didn't think we needed to learn the numbers. And I curse him every time I have to type a number. And I said to my daughter, why? Why would he do that? And he's like, zero, that's because he can just look and peck. And it's like, zero, so cheat. Right. So, you know, but.

But when it comes to typing, I'm really fast. In college, I was the one that transcribed all the ethnographies because I was the fastest typer. Right. We did all the interviews and the counseling sessions, and I typed them all into a report. Braille can do this for our kids.

If one 9th grade class can teach me, keep me proficient the rest of my life. Right. And I'm so glad I have that skill now because it helps me with the technology and the keyboards.

If I can learn that in one class in ninth grade, imagine what we can do for these kids earlier on if we get the proper assessment, if we get the instruction that they need. And not just if they're completely blind. If you have any vision, any vision at all, that's great. Use the tactile modality.

I talked about that last time. But, but also add the braille. Add that skill so they can become proficient. I can't unlearn typing. It's like you can't not ride a bike. Right. I can't unlearn typing. Those kids will not be able to unlearn Braille. And we will give them more than just a typing class.

We'll give them literacy. That's going to give them the Independence that they need to be productive Members of society. So thank you so much for letting me babble. I appreciate you hearing my testimony. Thank you, Katie. Members questions.

So, Marie, you forgot to tell them how we would get timed and we have to type so many words. Right? Exactly.

Even more so. Yeah. You would get timed time and you. Would so many words so that it would have mistakes. Right. And if you made mistakes, you got docked for those. Yes. Right. And if you looked down. And I always like my sighted counterparts. So they'd be like. And I'd be like, what, what does that do?

Like, I could never do it. But yeah.

The sad thing is, when my son was going to school, they didn't teach him the keyboard. They didn't teach him how to type. I was. They don't teach you how to type. So he's one finger. Of course he can. He can use his thumbs to do.

To do all the things, but they didn't teach him how to the type board. And I'm like you to this day. I can type without looking down. Yeah. You go, except the numbers. Except the numbers. The numbers are the high one.

We're running those. Look and post. We're. We're real. Yeah. You know, we're the real deal.

So thank you so much.

Yeah, no problem. Thank you for hearing me.

Thank you. Katie.

Other questions?

If not. I'm sorry, no, thank you. Next to testify, Marie. zero, I'm sorry, that was Marie. zero, sorry, I missed one. Okay. Virgil Stin Steineth President NFB Hawaii. Is she here? Not here. She's in support. Ann Horiuchi, Deputy Attorney General. You're not Ann. I'm Randall.

I just needed to mention that for our people that are not cited, your voice would throw them off. So I think they'd figure it out right away though.

Vice Chair Kim, Members of the Committee. Randall Watt, Department Attorney General offering comments on this Bill as outlined our written testimony. The Department offer asked recommends one amendment to the Bill.

The new section 302 ACB on page 5 lines 1 through 6 of the Bill states that every individualized education program or Section 504 plan for eligible blind students shall include an assessment of student's reading and writing ability.

Under federal law, eligible student assessments are determined by the IEP team and if you mandate this law it could be contrary to that federal law. So we recommend that that section be removed. Which section 302ac ac subsection B on page five, lines one through six. Thank you. Testify and Bill for questions.

Members questions. Thank you, Randall. Next to testify, Donald Sakamoto, National Federation of the Blind of Hope. Randall here.

Yes, good afternoon. Chair, Vice Chair and Members of the Committee. Donald Sakamo as a blind individual and a Member of our National Federation of Blind. I am full support of the Bill as is with no changes if possible my testimony.

I did write in my testimony about a well known attorney of Hawaii and a representative of the state Legislature, 48th district, Terence Tom.

Now he learned how to read Bill and became a successful attorney politician and we need more of these people in our schools to learn braille so they can be like Terence and have the goal to be famous or even be maybe President of the United States. But this is why I support the Bill.

Because I didn't have braille when I was young. I had to do with large print like some test fire said if I had that challenge to do it I would be much more perfected in braille. Unfortunately I learned it at Hoopono State Agency for the Blind at a later age when I was in my late 40s.

Difficult when you have diabetes and it's hard to feel the print braille. But I fully support because the kids are keikis are like sponges so they learn a lot at the time and they can enhance their Education after they leave public school and go on to college or wherever they want to do in their life.

Thank you for allowing me to testify. Aloha.

Thank you. Members, questions, if not. And we also have comments and support from four other individuals. James Gashell.

Yes, thank you. Madam Chair, Vice Chair Kim and Members. I'm James Gashell, Legislative Chair for the National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii. Let me just say it's good to testify on a bill where everybody supports it. And I want to suggest a couple of things of a more maybe technical nature.

When the session started, there were two bills on Braille literacy, one which Chair Kidani introduced as SB530, and one which Chair Woodson introduced as HB620. This Committee passed the Senate Bill back on February 7th with an SD1. And the SD1 was the amendment suggested by the Attorney General.

The bill that's advanced, of course, is the House Bill, and that's why you have that one here today. The most straightforward way to actually address all the various amendments that the Department has put into its testimony and the Attorney General mentioned would be to substitute the text of SB530, SD 1 and, and I.

You can ask them, but I know the Department supports that version of this bill. National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii supports that version of this bill. I assume the Attorney General would, since that bill adopted the Attorney General's amendment at that time. And I think it would be.

I can say more with more confidence that that would be the most workable version of this bill to adopt either one of them would be fine. But with more confidence, I would recommend SB530, SD1 as a substitute for the text that you have in HB620. And Mahalo for hearing this bill and for hearing my testimony.

Thank you. I believe that is going to be the intent of this Committee. Thank you. Anyone else here wishing to testify in this measure, if not Members? Questions? Thank you. That concludes the bills that we have to hear. And we are going to recess for decision making, reconvening the Committee on Education.

This is Monday, March 103:00pm agenda. We are looking at decision making. And for House Bill 622, HD1, we are going to replace this bill with the language in Senate version, Senate Bill 1390, SD1. And basically it defects the date to October of each year, the reporting date. Yes.

Okay. Senate Bill. I'm sorry. House Bill 622 HD1, passed with amendments. The chair holds. I corrected recommendations.

Thank you. Moving on to House Bill 1055, HD1 relating to early childhood educator special Fund. Recommendation of chair is to pass with amendments making it effective upon its approval.

Chair hold I Any Members voting? No. Any Members voting with reservations hearing none. All five Members present recommendations adapted.

Thank you. Moving on. House Bill 904 HD1. This is relating to charter schools. Recommendation of the chair is to pass with amendments.

The amendments are to retain statutory language required requiring an annual board report, changing reference from board to Commission as appropriate, and third, inserting language requiring the board to review and approve the Commission's report before submission to the Legislature and Governor and public.

Okay with that. Posto 904HD1 passed with amendments. Any numbers. Any Members voting with reservations hearing that all five Members voting aye. Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. And moving on to our final bill. House Bill 620 HD1 relating to education.

The recommendation is to pass with amendments and we're deleting its contents and inserting the contents of Senate Bill 530sd1, which is a Senate version this bill and it encompasses stakeholders feedback and also allows DOE to fully implement amend on the intent of this bill. Members questions.

The Recommendation. Senate Bill 620. Sorry. House Bill 620 HT1 passed with amendments. Any Member voting no. Any Members voting with rec with reservations hearing none. 5 Members all voting I Recommendations adopted. I just want to say that I got to serve with Representative Tom. His office is right next door to me.

He carried his braille machine everywhere he went. And you could always hear him on his braille machine. Yes. And he was always with his braille and I was always impressed that he he could do that. So. Yeah. So I just think that this is a really good bill, Madam Chair. So thank you. Thank you.

That's the end of our agenda.

This Committee is adjourned.

Thank you.