Legislative Update From HSTA April 23, 2013

On April 9, 2013 the Hawaii State Legislature convened and passed out many bills.

As you know, HSTA has been tracking the following bill called SB 238, HD 2 “Instructional Hours.”  We were successful in defeating this bill, as the legislators believed this bill should be collectively bargained between the employer and HSTA. 

We would like to thank the following representatives for supporting HSTA’s position and upholding collective bargaining laws:
Representative(s) Aquino, Brower, Cabanilla, Carroll, Cheape, Coffman, Cullen, Fale, Fukumoto, Hanohano, Har, Hashem, Ing, Ito, Johanson, Kawakami, C. Lee, Lowen, McDermott, McKelvey, Morikawa, Say, Takai, Thielen, Tokioka, Tsuji, Ward, Woodson, Wooley, and Yamane.

We are still tracking and supporting SB 573 SD 2, Teacher Tax Credits and opposing SB 1084 SD1, HD1 “Constitutional Amendments”. 

SB 1084 is a voucher that will allow public money to pay for private preschools.  HSTA is lobbying the legislature to work on adequately funding our K-12 public schools instead of moving money to support private institution. HSTA also is lobbying the legislature to recognize that Kindergarten is an important and integral part of a child’s education and that it should be mandated and supported before supporting other age groups.

HSTA is very concerned about any type of system that is being legislated where public money is being diverted to help private institutions.  As such, the state should and can build capacity within the public school system.  We need your help to make sure that the legislature supports K-12 public education and that funding should be used to support our profession and students.

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Background: Abercrombie 'School Readiness' Plan Based on Proven Failure