Education/Social services

Felix financing
(HB200 HD1 SD1 CD1)
Provides $172 million in additional money over the next two years to comply with the Felix federal court consent decree, which requires the state to provide services to special education children with mental diabilities.

Retired teachers
(HB1668 HD1 SD1 CD1)
Would allow the state Department of Education to rehire retired teachers to fill shortage areas. The bill would allow the teachers to continue receiving retirement benefits while they also draw teacher pay, but does not allow the teachers to accrue additional retirement benefits.

School maintenance
(HB200 HD1 SD1 CD1)
Allocates an additional $60 million over two years for school repairs and maintenance.

Homeless assistance
(HB200 HD1 SD1 CD1)
Allocates an extra $1.8 million for assistance to homeless people.

Student loans
(HB1667 HD2 SD1 CD1)
Creates the Hawai'i Education Loan Program, and allocates $100,000 for student loans for people studying to be teachers and agree to teach in the Hawai'i public school system.

Charter schools
(HB946 SD2)
Streamlines application process for charter schools by establishing a charter school review panel and submittal process timeline. Establishes the BOE as final appeals and approval authority. Establishes a preference in review for existing publicly financed schools or programs.

School computers
Would earmark $27.5 million for new computers for schools to reduce the student-to-computer ratio from six-to-one to four-to-one.

Textbook money
Would set aside $4.5 million for new textbooks for public school children.

Private school assistance
Would propose a constitutional amendment to allow the state to issue special purpose revenue bonds to assist nonprofit private and secular elementary schools and secondary schools serving the general public.

Welfare vouchers
Would create a "Keeping Hope Alive" voucher program for children in families that used up their five years of welfare benefits. The vouchers could be used for housing, child care, clothing and school supplies.

Unionized principals
Would remove public school principals from all union representation, instead hiring principals on limited term contracts. The bill also offered principals raises of 20 percent or more under the new hiring arrangement. Measure was voted down by the House after floor debate.

Charter schools
Prohibits the Board of Education from granting charters for new century charter schools until rules and suggestions for statutory changes are developed to ensure the accountability of charter schools.

Local school boards
Would create eight regional school boards to govern the schools. The measure was voted down by the House after floor debate.

Merit pay
Establishes a merit pay program under which principals are awarded additional pay if their school improves in measurable areas of performance.

Education autonomy
Would propose a constitutional amendment to make the state Department of Education a political subdivision headed by the Board of Education and would have given the board the authority to enact an education excise tax.

BOE apportionment
Would require the BOE to be composed of 17 voting members elected in a nonpartisan manner by the qualified voters of the school board districts, as provided by law. Requires each school board district to be composed of 3 representative districts.