Department of education; board of education; superintendent of education

(a) There shall be a principal executive department to be known as the department of education, which shall be headed by a policy-making board to be known as the board of education. The board shall have power in accordance with law to formulate statewide educational policy, adopt student performance standards and assessment models, monitor school success, and appoint the superintendent of education as the chief executive officer of the public school system. (b) The board shall appoint, and may remove, the superintendent by a majority vote of its members. The superintendent: (1) May be appointed without regard to the state residency provisions of section 78-1(b); (2) May be appointed for a term of up to four years; and (3) May be terminated only for cause. (c) The board shall invite the senior military commander in Hawaii to appoint a nonvoting military representative to the board, who shall serve for a two-year term without compensation. As the liaison to the board, the military representative shall advise the board regarding state education policies and departmental actions affecting students who are enrolled in public schools as family members of military personnel. The military representative shall carry out these duties as part of the representative's official military duties and shall be guided by applicable state and federal statutes, regulations, and policies and may be removed only for cause by a majority vote of the members of the board. (d) The board shall appoint the state public charter school commission which shall serve as the statewide charter authorizer for charter schools, with the power and duty to issue charters, oversee and monitor charter schools, hold charter schools accountable for their performance, and revoke charters.