HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.B. NO.
2203
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that there is significant public benefit to ensuring that all students have access to a quality education in a welcoming learning environment. This access leads to higher levels of academic achievement; reduced rates of homelessness, crime, and substance abuse; and better overall social, economic, and physical well-being.
The legislature also finds that the disciplinary practice of excluding children, particularly those children that belong to a protected class, from time, resources, and activities at school has a detrimental public impact. Exclusionary school discipline policies, including suspensions, expulsions, and school-based arrests, contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline, a national trend that occurs when students are funneled out of the public school system into the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. Students who experience exclusionary discipline are more likely to have continued contact with the criminal justice system and less successful outcomes later in life.
The legislature further finds that among the many possible disciplinary interventions and consequences available to school officials, exclusions from school, including out-of-school suspension and in-school suspension, are the most serious. Exclusionary school policies can lead to increased rates of disengagement and drop-out in addition to poorer academic and school climate outcomes from schools.
The legislature additionally finds that an estimated thirty states have established a public reporting mechanism for exclusionary discipline, and roughly thirty-seven states cap or eliminate suspensions entirely. The legislature finds that Hawaii would benefit by building upon local and national models to reduce the use of suspensions as a disciplinary tool and eliminate inconsistencies and disparities in the discipline of students. In particular, curbing the disparate application of exclusionary school discipline policies on students based on actual or perceived race, color, religion, age, creed, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship status, immigration status, disability by an individualized education program or 504 plan, age, sexual orientation, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, English language learner status, or weight will help dismantle systemic disparities and lead to a more equitable education system.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to require the department of education to track and publish data regarding all instances in which exclusionary discipline procedures were used, disaggregated by student subgroup.
SECTION 2. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part IV, subpart C, to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§302A- School discipline data reporting. (a) The board and the legislature shall review annually the:
(1) Data concerning the number of students who were excluded from school during the previous school year pursuant to section 302A-1134;
(2) Type of exclusion from school, including the duration of the exclusion;
(3) Reason or rationale for each exclusion from school;
(4) Specific school from which each student was excluded; and
(5) Age, grade, gender, English language learner status, race, national origin, or disability status of each student excluded from school; provided that disability status shall mean disability status as designated by an individualized education program developed pursuant to part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, P.L. 101-476, or a 504 plan made pursuant to the United States Rehabilitation Act of 1973, title 29 United States Code section 701 et seq.
The board shall make this data public in an annual report, reporting the data required by this section when the number of students in a particular data subgroup is greater than five and redacting when the number of students in a particular data subgroup is five or less; provided that the personally identifiable information of each student shall be kept private.
(b) The superintendent, or the superintendent's designee, shall review annually the discipline data collected pursuant to this section and section 302A-1134, to determine whether the discipline imposed has a disproportionate impact on students based on race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, English language learner status, or disability status; provided that disability status shall mean disability status as designated by an individualized education program developed pursuant to part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, P.L. 101‑476, or a 504 plan made pursuant to the United States Rehabilitation Act of 1973, title 29 United States Code section 701 et seq. If the superintendent or the superintendent's designee determines that the discipline data collected indicates a disparity, the superintendent or appropriate complex area superintendent shall respond appropriately to address the disparity. In addition to the data submitted, the department shall submit an annual report to the board describing what action, if any, the superintendent, complex area superintendent, principal, or any designee has taken to address the disparity. If no disparity is found for a particular school or complex area, the report shall include a statement to that effect. Any report made pursuant to this section shall be deemed to be a public record."
SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.
Report Title:
DOE; Schools; Discipline; Data; Reporting
Description:
Requires the department of education to track and publish the use of all exclusionary discipline disaggregated by student subgroup. Takes effect on 7/1/2050. (HD1)
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