HB1837 HD1

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that following the Maui wildfires in August 2023, the speaker of the state house of representatives established six bipartisan interim working groups tasked with evaluating specific topics in the aftermath of the wildfires and making recommendations for appropriate legislative action in the regular session of 2024. Members of the working groups collaborated with federal, state, and county agencies, along with community stakeholders and interested parties, to identify immediate issues that require temporary or transitional relief for the people and businesses of west Maui.

The legislature further finds that the schools working group was specifically tasked with evaluating strategies utilized to accommodate displaced students and staff to return to school and preparing recommendations for appropriate legislative action. All working groups released a joint final report in December 2023 detailing their findings and recommendations.

The purpose of this Act is to adopt the recommendation of the schools working group by:

(1) Requiring the department of education to grant public access to emergency action plans that do not pose a security risk to students, staff, or guests of school campuses;

(2) Requiring each department school to have a comprehensive school evacuation communication plan for use during emergencies;

(3) Requiring the department of education to collaborate with the department of transportation to assess all department school campuses to determine if there are sufficient emergency evacuation routes for each campus; and

(4) Appropriating funds to the department of education for the creation of emergency action plans and establishment and implementation of a comprehensive evacuation communication plan for each department of education school.

SECTION 2. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§302A- Emergency action plans; public access. (a) The department shall create emergency action plans for each department school and allow for public access to the plans; provided that access to the emergency action plans does not pose a security risk to students, staff, or guests visiting a school campus.

(b) The emergency action plans shall include standards that would trigger the closure of a school, including weather and other environmental situations.

§302A- Comprehensive evacuation communication plan; evacuations; emergencies. (a) Each department school shall establish and implement a comprehensive evacuation communication plan for evacuations and other emergencies.

(b) Each school evacuation communication plan shall include the following:

(1) Identification of key stakeholders and communication channels, including students, parents, guardians, staff, and emergency responders, to properly identify how the school will communicate with each group before, during, and after an evacuation or other emergency situation;

(2) Development of:

(A) A communication protocol to establish clear and concise messages and identify who is responsible for communicating each message; and

(B) A process to update the communication protocol developed pursuant to subparagraph (A) as needed;

(3) Regular testing and rehearsing of the communication plan to ensure that the plan is effective and all individuals involved know their roles and responsibilities;

(4) Cultural awareness and responsiveness to language access needs of the community and accessibility needs of students and individuals with disabilities; provided that the department shall work with language access experts to supports schools in the development of the communication plan; and

(5) Involvement of the community through input from students, parents, guardians, staff, and emergency responders.

(c) The school evacuation communication plan and any updates to the plan shall be shared with all students, parents, guardians, and staff at the beginning of the school year through:

(1) Posting on the appropriate school's website and social media pages; and

(2) Sending a copy of the plan to each student's parents or guardians.

(d) Schools shall collect and maintain up-to-date contact information for all students, parents, and guardians at the beginning of the school year and update the information as needed. Annual reminders to update contact information shall be sent to each student's parents or guardians."

SECTION 3. (a) The department of education, in collaboration with the department of transportation, shall assess all department of education school campuses and determine if there are sufficient emergency evacuation routes for each campus.

(b) The department of education shall report its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2025.

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 to the department of education for:

(1) The creation of the emergency action plans pursuant to section 2 of this Act; and

(2) The establishment and implementation of a comprehensive evacuation communication plan for each department of education school pursuant to section 2 of this Act.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. In accordance with section 9 of article VII of the Hawaii State Constitution and sections 37‑91 and 37‑93, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the legislature has determined that the appropriations contained in H.B. No. , will cause the state general fund expenditure ceiling for fiscal year 2024‑2025 to be exceeded by $ or per cent. In addition, the appropriation contained in this Act will cause the general fund expenditure ceiling for fiscal year 2024‑2025 to be further exceeded by $ or per cent. The combined total amount of general fund appropriations contained in only these two Acts will cause the state general fund expenditure ceiling for fiscal year 2024‑2025 to be exceeded by $ or per cent. The reasons for exceeding the general fund expenditure ceiling are that:

(1) The appropriation made in this Act is necessary to serve the public interest; and

(2) The appropriation made in this Act meets the needs addressed by this Act.

SECTION 6. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1837
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII