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Committee backs goal of fully accessible playgrounds at public schools and parks by 2030
Summary
After testimony from disability advocates and agencies, the committee passed HB867 HD1 to require accessible playgrounds at public schools and state parks and asked for further technical edits to the bill language.
House Bill 867, HD1, which seeks to require fully accessible playgrounds at public schools and (in limited circumstances) state parks, was passed by the committee Feb. 13 after testimony from disability-rights organizations, the Disability and Communication Access Board (DCAB), and Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Advocates described the social and developmental harms when students with disabilities cannot use school playgrounds. Lou Ortechek, director of the Disability Rights Center, told members the goal is inclusion: "community inclusion for people with disabilities starts when they're young," and inaccessible playgrounds can be "traumatizing," he said. The Disability and Communication Access Board provided suggested replacement language for technical clarifications and urged the committee to reinstate specific accessibility terms in the draft.
DLNR staff explained their agency generally does not manage playground facilities and noted some state-funded capital improvement projects (for example, Central Maui Regional Sports Complex) were later transferred to county management; DLNR said it uses consultants for design and ADA compliance on state projects as needed. Committee members discussed whether to keep state parks explicitly within the bill; DLNR said it would support accessibility for park facilities where appropriate and suggested language to address transfers to counties.
The committee adopted the chair's recommendation to pass HB867 HD1 and members thanked advocates for the work. Committee members noted technical edits would follow to clarify agency roles and to reconcile the bill text with existing accessibility standards.
