State legislators are reviewing bills that would require a minimum of instructional hours or days in Hawaii public schools as they look to restore school days lost because of budget cuts.

House Bill 2486, seeking to establish a minimum standard of instructional hours, passed out of the Education Committee yesterday and was sent to the House Finance Committee.

Education Chairman Roy Takumi said that if the bill had been a law, the state would have addressed the budget crunch differently and not reduced the school year by 17 days.

Faced with a $473.7 million budget deficit in two fiscal years, state public schools cut 10 Furlough Fridays so far this school year, with seven more days of closure before the end of June.

State education officials have scheduled 17 Furlough Fridays for the 2010-2011 school year.

Takumi (D, Pearl City-Pacific Palisades) said that in many other states, government officials faced with budget deficits chose to lay off teachers and increase class size to maintain the number of instructional hours.

“;The committee believes that increasing the amount of instructional time in our classrooms is critical to student success,”; Takumi said.

Takumi said some countries and states with more instructional time generally do better than Hawaii as far as student academic performance.

But Takumi said the House bill as is has no chance of passing and would require some work to define instructional time in schools.

The committee amended the bill so that it would take effect in July 2011, after the end of the state's contract with the Hawaii State Teachers Association.

A similar measure, Senate Bill 2336, was deferred in the Senate Education Committee until amendments could be made to it by tomorrow.

Senate Education Chairman Norman Sakamoto said committee members want to look at how other states are adjusting with their educational budget.

“;The goal is more instruction time,”; said Sakamoto (D, Kalihi-Aiea).

Sakamoto said Senate bills to fund instructional time for school furlough days from the Hurricane Relief Fund are in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Takumi said while state legislators can provide emergency funds for education, Gov. Linda Lingle and the Hawaii State Teachers Association have to arrive at an agreement as to how to use the funds.

He said Lingle and the teachers union appear to be far apart in their idea of what should be funded in the daily operation of schools to replace Furlough Fridays.

Kailua resident Melanie Bailey, a mother of a student, said Hawaii's public high schools have an hour less instructional time daily than the national average.

“;The fact we have allowed it for so many years is just appalling,”; Bailey said.