§26-12 Department of education. The department of education shall be headed by an executive board to be known as the board of education.

Under policies established by the board, the superintendent shall administer programs of education and public instruction throughout the State, including education at the primary and secondary school levels, adult education, school library services, health education and instruction (not including dental health treatment transferred to the department of health), special education and Title I funded programs at the prekindergarten level, and such other programs as may be established by law; provided that the department shall not establish general education prekindergarten classrooms, including private partnership-funded classrooms and classrooms to provide general education settings for children whose individualized education programs require such placement; provided further that the department may establish Title I-funded prekindergarten classrooms. The department shall collaborate with the executive office on early learning to coordinate services for children who are placed through their individualized education programs in a general education prekindergarten setting in a classroom offered by the executive office on early learning public prekindergarten program. Under policies established by the early learning board, the executive office on early learning shall have administrative authority over all state-funded prekindergarten programs, and private partnership-funded prekindergarten programs in the public schools, except for special education and Title I-funded prekindergarten programs. The state librarian, under policies established by the board of education, shall be responsible for the administration of programs relating to public library services and transcribing services for the blind.

The functions and authority exercised by the department relating to state-funded prekindergarten programs, private partnership-funded prekindergarten programs in the public schools, and classrooms to provide general education settings for children whose individualized education programs require such placement, except for special education and Title I-funded prekindergarten programs, shall be transferred to the executive office on early learning; provided that the department shall continue to provide, and have administrative authority over, services generally provided to the schools excluding those services related to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional learning support, for any facility on a department school campus at which the executive office on early learning administers programs.

The functions and authority heretofore exercised by the department of education (except dental health treatment transferred to the department of health), library of Hawaii, Hawaii county library, Maui county library, and the transcribing services program of the bureau of sight conservation and work with the blind, as heretofore constituted are transferred to the public library system established by this chapter.

The management contract between the board of supervisors of the county of Kauai and the Kauai public library association shall be terminated at the earliest time after November 25, 1959, permissible under the terms of the contract and the provisions of this paragraph shall constitute notice of termination, and the functions and authority heretofore exercised by the Kauai county library as heretofore constituted and the Kauai public library association over the public libraries in the county of Kauai shall thereupon be transferred to the public library system established by this chapter.

The management contracts between the trustees of the library of Hawaii and the Friends of the Library of Hawaii, and between the library of Hawaii and the Hilo library and reading room association, shall be terminated at the earliest time after November 25, 1959, permissible under the terms of the contracts, and the provisions of this paragraph shall constitute notice of termination.

Upon the termination of the contracts, the State or the counties shall not enter into any library management contracts with any private association; provided that in providing library services, the board of education may enter into contracts approved by the governor for the use of lands, buildings, equipment, and facilities owned by any private association.

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the board of education may establish, specify the membership number and quorum requirements for, appoint members to, and disestablish a commission in each county to be known as the library advisory commission, which shall in each case sit in an advisory capacity to the board of education on matters relating to public library services in their respective county. [L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §18; am L 1965, c 175, §41(a); Supp, §14A-17; HRS §26-12; am L 1970, c 59, §1; am L 1981, c 150, §1; am L 1997, c 202, §1; am L 2018, c 175, §1; am L 2019, c 276, §2]

Attorney General Opinions

The three-year residence requirement of Constitution is not applicable to the superintendent of education. Att. Gen. Op. 66-27.

Case Notes

Duty of supervision of students. 56 H. 337, 536 P.2d 1195.

Budget expenditures of the department of education, discussed. 70 H. 253, 768 P.2d 1279.