Bill Text: HI HB1346 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Early Childhood Education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-0)
Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2020-07-10 - Transmitted to Governor. [HB1346 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2020-HB1346-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
1346 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to early childhood education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Every year, as many as 8,710 three- and four-year-old children nationwide may be expelled from their state-funded preschool or prekindergarten classroom. These suspensions and expulsions are occurring at a rate more than three times that of their peers in kindergarten through grade 12, according to a joint statement drafted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, with support from a host of other national organizations regarded as leaders in the field of early childhood education.
Many more children are suspended, with the data demonstrating severe racial disparities. Data from the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights indicates a significant percentage of these children are also suspended more than once, leaving them with few supports and even fewer options to ensure that they are able to participate in high-quality early learning.
This situation is particularly troubling given that such suspensions and expulsions occur during a critical period in a child's development, when a child's brain is developing rapidly. The earliest years of a child's life are critical to laying the foundation of learning and wellness needed for success in school and beyond. Especially during these early years, the educational system should ensure that our youngest children have access to opportunities that will prepare them to reach their greatest potential. By suspending or expelling them, our educational system instead sets our youngest off in the wrong direction, before they even begin kindergarten.
Well-established research indicates that school suspension and expulsion practices are associated with adverse educational and life outcomes. Suspension and expulsion early in a child's life predicts suspension and expulsion later in school. Children who are suspended or expelled from school are as many as ten times more likely to drop out of high school, experience academic failure, hold negative attitudes toward school, and face incarceration than their peers who were never suspended or expelled.
Though each case is different, suspensions and expulsions may be the result of the lack of--or misguided--policies, or insufficient training and support services for staff, especially in managing challenging behaviors, recognizing trauma, and promoting socioemotional development. The executive office on early learning makes it a priority to provide professional learning support to executive office on early learning public prekindergarten program staff as well as to work with school leadership on staffing. The office has also been partnering with the University of Hawaii system to strengthen the pipeline of early childhood educators with respect to these areas. The office focuses on these matters in its work because the target population for the executive office on early learning public prekindergarten program is underserved or at-risk children--those who stand to benefit the most from and should be assured of high-quality early learning, rather than be denied access to it due to suspension or expulsion.
In December 2014, the United States Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education issued a joint policy statement and recommendations to assist states and their public and private local early childhood learning programs to prevent and severely limit suspensions and expulsions in early learning settings. The policy statement affirmed the departments' efforts to prevent and eventually eliminate suspension and expulsion in all early childhood settings and support young children's social, emotional, and behavioral development.
The federal Office of Head Start has already prohibited its programs from expelling or un-enrolling children due to a child's behavior, and requires its programs to prohibit or severely limit the use of suspension due to a child's behavior. Federal Head Start programs are required to partner with families; consult with specialists; help the child and family obtain additional services, as appropriate; and take all possible steps to ensure the child's successful participation in the program.
In alignment with national best practices and the federal government's efforts along these lines to most appropriately support our youngest children, the purpose of this Act is to prohibit the suspension and expulsion of children participating in the executive office on early learning public prekindergarten program, except in very limited circumstances.
SECTION 2. Section 302A-1134, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) If, for any reason, a child
becomes a detriment to the morals or discipline of any school, the child may be
precluded from attending school by the principal, with the approval of the
complex area superintendent[.]; provided that this section shall not
apply to children participating in the executive office on early learning
public prekindergarten program pursuant to section 302L-7. The department shall seek the active
participation of other public and private agencies in providing help to these
children before and after they have left school. An appeal may be taken on behalf of the child
to the superintendent of education within ten days from the date of such
action."
SECTION 3. 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 use of suspension due to a child's behavior shall be
prohibited; provided that a temporary suspension may be used when there is a
serious threat to safety that cannot be reduced or eliminated through
reasonable modifications, to be determined in the following manner:
(1) Before a principal determines whether a
temporary suspension is necessary, the principal shall consider the
recommendation of the program staff, who shall have collaborated with:
(A) The
child's parents
or guardians;
(B) Other
public resources, which may include behavioral health specialists;
psychologists; clinical psychologists; and other specialists, as appropriate; and
(C) Any
private resources consulted by the child's parents or guardians, as
appropriate,
to
determine that no other reasonable option is appropriate; and
(2) If a temporary suspension is determined to
be necessary, program staff, in collaboration with the child's parents or
guardians and the appropriate public and private resources identified in
paragraph (1), shall develop and implement a written plan that documents the
actions and supports needed to help the child return to full participation in all
program activities while ensuring child safety, including the time required to
transition the child to full participation and consideration of whether a
referral to special education services is appropriate.
(i) The expulsion or un-enrolling of a child due
to the child's
behavior shall be prohibited; provided that when a child exhibits persistent
and serious challenging behaviors, program staff shall explore all possible
steps and document all steps taken to address such behaviors, while
facilitating the child's
continued and safe participation in the program, including, at a minimum:
(1) Collaborating
with the child's parents or guardians and the appropriate public and private
resources identified in subsection (h)(1);
(2) Considering whether
to provide appropriate services and supports under section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act to ensure that a child who satisfies the definition of
disability in 29 U.S.C. 705(9)(b) is not excluded from the program on the basis
of disability;
(3) Consulting with
the department of education to ensure that the child receives the needed
support services if the child has an individualized education program; and
(4) Collaborating, with the consent of the child's parents or guardians, with the department of education to determine the child's eligibility for services, if the child does not have an individualized education program.
The
program staff shall provide the principal with all of the information from its
exploration of all possible steps and documentation of all steps taken to
address the child's behaviors pursuant to this section. If the principal, after considering all of
this information, determines that the child's continued enrollment presents a continued serious
threat to the safety of the child or other enrolled children and determines that
the program is not the most appropriate placement for the child, program staff
shall determine and provide the child's parents or guardians with options for
more-appropriate placement of the child.
Program staff shall also collaborate with the provider of the option
selected by the child's parent or guardians to facilitate the child's
transition.
(j) As used in this section, "program
staff" means the principal, teacher, educational assistant, early learning
resource teacher, and educational specialist associated with the executive
office on early learning public prekindergarten program being implemented at a
particular school.
[(h)]
(k) The office shall collect data
to:
(1) Evaluate the services provided;
(2) Inform policy; and
(3) Make any improvements to the program.
[(i)]
(l) 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.
(m) All processes involved in implementation of
this section related to students with special needs shall comply with federal
law.
[(j)] (n) 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 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Suspension or Expulsion of Public Prekindergarten Students; Prohibited
Description:
Prohibits the suspension or expulsion of children participating in the Executive Office on Early Learning's Public Prekindergarten Program, except under limited circumstances.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
