Bill Text: HI SR103 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Requesting The Board Of Education, In Partnership With The State Public Charter School Commission, To Submit A Report On Increasing Access To Stable, Suitable, And Affordable Facilities For Public Charter Schools.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-14 - Referred to EDU. [SR103 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2024-SR103-Introduced.html

---

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	103
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the board of education, in partnership with the state public charter school commission, to submit a report on increasing access to stable, suitable, and affordable facilities for public charter schools.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's public charter schools serve a critical role as laboratories of innovation in the State's education system; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's public charter schools enroll more than twelve thousand students; and

 

     WHEREAS, lack of funding for, and availability of, proper facilities has been a long-standing issue for charter schools nationally and locally, forcing some charter schools in the State to hold classes outdoors, on covered lanais, or in unstable temporary structures; and

 

     WHEREAS, public charter schools receive inadequate funding to support student learning; and

 

     WHEREAS, while the State Public Charter School Commission may request funding for facilities as part of its annual budget request, the amounts received in recent fiscal years have not kept pace with the cost of providing and maintaining high‑quality facilities; and

 

     WHEREAS, despite the Department of Accounting and General Services and Department of Education being mandated to conduct biennial surveys and submit biennial reports relating to any unused state facility that may be used for public charter schools, the Departments have not identified any such facility; and

 

     WHEREAS, unused or underutilized state facilities would help alleviate the lack of proper facilities for public charter schools; and

 

     WHEREAS, in addition to the existence of unused and underutilized facilities in the State, there are various financing options, such as federal support, that can be used to help support public charter schools; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii has the opportunity and responsibility to maximize existing assets that are currently available to assist public charter schools to ensure all students have proper facilities for their education; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the Board of Education, in partnership with the State Public Charter School Commission, is requested to submit a report on increasing access to stable, suitable, and affordable facilities for public charter schools, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in preparing the report, the Board of Education is requested to:

 

     (1)  Assess why no unused facilities have been identified by the appropriate state departments;

 

     (2)  Propose changes in policy or practice in establishing an affirmative duty to connect charter schools with unused or underutilized facilities, along with increased accountability and oversight over unused facilities;

 

     (3)  Obtain and publish an updated list from the Department of Education of unused or underutilized facilities;

 

     (4)  Coordinate with the School Facilities Authority to include public charter school facilities as a priority for the Authority;

 

     (5)  Assess the amount of federal funds that are available to benefit eligible public charter school facilities in the State but are not being accessed; and

 

     (6)  Assess the feasibility of expanding the range of financing options for public charter schools, such as tax-exempt bonds, credit enhancement programs, and revolving loan funds; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Comptroller, Chairperson of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Education, and Executive Director of the State Public Charter School Commission.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

 

 

Report Title: 

Public Charter Schools; Unused Facilities