HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1510
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO TEACHERS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that teachers are the most important professionals responsible for advancing children's learning. Yet numerous studies have shown that when teacher salaries are adjusted for cost of living, Hawaii's teachers are the lowest paid educators in the nation on average. A 2020 study conducted by Augenblick, Palaich and Associates Consulting on behalf of the department of education found that when compared with other high-cost geographic locations, pay for the State's teachers lagged by a range of about $7,700 to just over $26,000, once cost of living is properly accounted for, and depending on length of service.

The legislature additionally finds that low teacher pay negatively impacts the State's ability to recruit and retain highly skilled classroom leaders. According to the department of education's 2021 Strategic Plan Dynamic Report for the 2021-2022 school year, forty-nine per cent of Hawaii's teachers are leaving the profession within their first five years of service. Furthermore, the report reveals that the State's teacher shortage currently stands at eight hundred eighty-six positions overall, of which two hundred thirty positions are in the content area of special education. To ensure that all of Hawaii's keiki are given access to a high-quality education, it is essential to resolve the State's chronic teacher shortage and ensure that all classrooms are staffed by qualified educators.

The purpose of this Act is to address Hawaii's teacher shortage by increasing the number of classifications on the salary schedule for teachers of the department of education.

SECTION 2. Section 302A-624, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) A teacher shall be required to spend at least one year in Class III before going on to Class IV, at least one year in Class IV before going on to Class V, at least one year in Class V before going on to Class VI, [and] at least one year in Class VI before going on to Class VII[.], at least one year in Class VII before going on to Class VIII, at least one year in Class VIII before going on to Class IX, and at least one year in Class IX before going on to Class X; provided that additional classifications may be included in the teachers' salary schedule pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement negotiated for bargaining unit (5)."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Education; Teachers' Salary Schedule; Classifications; Compensation

Description:

Increases the number of classifications on the salary schedule for teachers of the department of education. Specifies that additional classifications may be included in the teachers' salary schedule pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement negotiated for bargaining unit (5).

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.