House Committee on Education advances a package of K–12 bills on fees, staffing, safety and student mental health

The House Committee on Education, chaired by Representative Terry Woodson, moved a slate of bills forward after public and agency testimony on topics including school impact fees, workforce housing for teachers, licensure and incentives for school psychologists, student mental-health screening, educator safety, and automatic teacher salary steps. The committee recorded votes or recommendations to pass most measures with committee amendments; one bill was deferred.

The committee’s earliest substantive discussion focused on HB 330, which would change how school impact fees are administered. Ricky Fujitani of the School Facilities Authority testified in support, saying the bill seeks to “align policy with implementation.” Tom Yamachika of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii said the funds tied to impact fees have built up and should be used; “The balance in this fund has built up over time and is now over $20,000,000,” Yamachika said. Department of Education staff, represented remotely by Dean Uchida, said DOE would check the exact account balance and report back.

The panel also considered housing and staffing bills. HB 1188, the teacher workforce housing stipend program, drew support from the Hawaii State Teachers Association and the Charter School Commission. An attorney from the Department of the Attorney General (AG) recommended narrowing vague terms such as “within commuting distance” by specifying miles and suggested clarifying repayment obligations for stipend recipients; the committee agreed to incorporate statutory cross-references and clean up eligibility language.

Lawmakers spent extended time on licensure and staffing for school psychologists. HB 624 (a licensure pathway) and HB 625 (an incentive program for nationally certified school psychologists) received testimony from the Board of Psychology, the Hawaii Association of School Psychologists and DOE representatives. Leslie Bonnick of the Hawaii Association of School Psychologists urged that any licensure work group include stakeholders from private schools, early-intervention programs and the university system. The committee agreed to add specified stakeholders and to send funding amounts to the committee report.

HB 1314, a measure to expand student mental-health screening and supports, prompted questions about current practices. Heidi Armstrong of the Department of Education summarized the DOE’s student-support process and provided counts: “For school year we had about 12,031 students receiving school-based behavioral health services. We had 7,136 students receive multiple services based on needs identified through the student support process,” Armstrong said. The AG’s office recommended a liability-limiting provision; the committee accepted AG language that would preserve liability exclusions for gross negligence and misconduct while adding a general liability assurance as described in AG testimony.

Safety and workplace protections for educational workers drew some of the most emotional testimony. Lindsey Chambers, a DOE employee who helped draft the bill now numbered HB 616, described filing a temporary restraining order and enduring long-term harassment; she told the committee that a consistent, department-wide response procedure is missing and that ad hoc guidance has left educators vulnerable. Chambers said 30 TROs had been filed against a known perpetrator who repeatedly targeted educational workers. The committee amended HB 616 so educational workers could be reimbursed for court costs in seeking judicial protection (excluding attorney fees) and clarified that paid leave tied to the measure would apply when workers seek judicial protection.

Other measures advanced with committee changes: a three-year pilot for interisland athletic travel (HB 88), the Ho‘okea program (HB 626), expanded support for Kaiapuni programs and Board of Education membership adjustments (HB 1496), and a bill to recognize Korean-language instruction pathways (HB 471) that the committee encouraged communities to pursue through school-level channels and deferred for further work. Teachers and union representatives strongly supported HB 1346, which would restore or require automatic annual salary step increases when funded; teacher John Fitzpatrick said teachers lose substantial lifetime earnings without consistent step movement and noted past state surpluses during bargaining cycles.

Votes at a glance - HB 330 (school impact fees): Passed with amendments. Roll call recorded: Chair Woodson — Aye; Vice Chair LaChica — Aye; Rep. Amato — Aye; Rep. Evslin — Aye; Rep. Garrett — Aye; Rep. Capella — Excused; Rep. Kila — Aye; Rep. Olds — Aye; Rep. Sayama — Aye; Rep. Moraoka — No; Rep. Souza — Aye. Chair’s recommendation adopted. - HB 1188 (teacher workforce housing stipend): Committee recommendation to pass with amendments (Chair and Vice Chair voted aye); language clarifications and funding to committee report. - HB 624 (school psychologist licensure): Committee recommendation to pass with amendments (Chair and Vice Chair voted aye); added Board of Psychology and stakeholder representation. - HB 625 (nationally certified school psychologist incentive): Committee recommendation to pass with amendments (Chair and Vice Chair voted aye); appropriation details moved to committee report. - HB 1314 (youth mental health for all schools): Committee recommendation to pass with AG-suggested liability language added; Chair and Vice Chair voted aye. - HB 616 (education worker workplace safety / harassment protection): Committee recommendation to pass with amendments that provide reimbursement for court costs (excluding attorney fees) and limit paid leave to judicial-protection actions; Chair and Vice Chair voted aye. - HB 88 (DOE athletic travel pilot): Committee recommendation to pass with amendments (Chair and Vice Chair voted aye); added an athletic clerk position and adjusted population thresholds. - HB 626 (Ho‘okea program): Committee recommendation to pass with amendments; funding amounts moved to committee report. - HB 1496 (Kaiapuni program and BOE membership): Committee recommendation to pass with amendments. - HB 471 (Korean language instruction): Committee deferred; DOE noted existing pathways and encouraged school communities to pursue program creation at the school level. - HB 1346 (automatic teacher step increases if funded): Committee recommendation to pass with amendments; at least one member recorded a reservation vote during the roll call sequence.

What happens next Most bills were advanced with committee amendments and instructions to the staff to incorporate technical fixes, statutory cross-references and specific funding figures into the committee reports. Several measures had their effective dates defected to July 1, 3000, a standard legislative placeholder used in committee amendments. The committee recorded votes on the floor recommendations and will transmit the amended bills and committee reports to subsequent legislative steps.

Members and witnesses who provided testimony indicated follow-ups: DOE staff said they would check specific account balances cited during testimony (school-impact fee fund balance) and the department agreed to participate in work groups on psychologist licensure and mental-health implementation.