Students Influence Legislation
Kaua`i High School senior Briana Bailey testified yesterday opposite DOE Assistant Superintendent Randolph Moore on Senate Bill 2166, which she drafted during the 2007 Secondary Student Conference.
High school seniors are among the writers of Hawai`i’s legislation. During a two-day Secondary Student Conference that occurred in November, student representatives drafted resolutions that were made into bills and introduced in the state legislature this session.
Several high school students from Kalaheo, Kailua and Kaua`i high schools were among those who followed their legislation to hearings yesterday before the Senate’s Education and Energy and Environment committees.
Senate Bill 2274, which appropriates funds for a task force within the Department of Education to conduct an analysis and create a school recycling program, passed the hearing with amendments.
Kaua`i High School senior Briana Bailey was responsible for drafting Senate Bill 2166, which asks for grants for alternative energy utilities on public school campuses. The state Department of Education and Bailey were the only parties to testify during the hearing, and SB2166 passed with amendments afterward.