HB2514 HD1

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that approximately ten per cent of the State's teachers switch schools, relocate, or leave the profession each year. Only fifty to sixty per cent of current teachers have been at their school for five years or more. Chronic teacher turnover forces the department of education to rely on emergency hires and substitute teachers to fill vacancies. The legislature further finds that teacher recruitment and retention is especially difficult at hard-to-staff schools.

The legislature additionally finds that Hawaii's high cost of living is a significant contributing factor in the department of education's teacher recruitment and retention efforts. According to a WalletHub study, Hawaii ranked fifty-first out of fifty states and the District of Columbia for starting teacher salary and median teacher salary, adjusted for cost of living.

The purpose of this Act is to alleviate the financial burden on teachers and improve teacher recruitment and retention by establishing a teacher housing assistance program to provide housing vouchers to qualified full-time teachers who are employed by the department of education and teach at a hard‑to‑fill school, as determined by the department, including public charter schools.

SECTION 2. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to subpart E, part III to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§302A- Teacher housing assistance program. (a) There is established a teacher housing assistance program to be administered by the department to provide housing vouchers to eligible teachers. If the number of applications exceeds the number of available housing vouchers, housing vouchers shall be provided to eligible teachers through a lottery process.

(b) A housing voucher provided under this section shall be used for:

(1) Rent for the eligible teacher's primary residence;

(2) Mortgage payments for the eligible teacher's primary residence; or

(3) Down payment on residential real property; provided that the property shall be the eligible teacher's primary residence.

(c) A housing voucher shall not exceed $500 per month or the eligible teacher's monthly rent or mortgage payment, whichever is less. A housing voucher granted pursuant to this section shall be applicable for one year. The voucher shall be renewable for one additional year.

(d) Upon the establishment of the teacher housing assistance program, the department shall develop an application procedure and processes, procedures, and forms necessary to implement and maintain the program. The department shall work with the state public charter school commission to develop a process to verify that an eligible teacher satisfies the criteria listed in subsection (f).

(e) The department may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to effectuate the purpose of this section.

(f) For the purposes of this section, an "eligible teacher" means a person who:

(1) Is a full-time teacher;

(2) Has taught at a school in the State for at least one year prior to the application date;

(3) Is employed by the department of education;

(4) Commits to teach at a hard-to-fill school, as determined by the department of education, or a public charter school for no less than five consecutive years;

(5) Resides in the State;

(6) Does not own, operate, rent, or control any residential real property in addition to the eligible teacher's primary residence for which the housing voucher is sought; and

(7) Has a household income below per cent of the area median income."

SECTION 3. Section 302A-833, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) The revolving fund may be used by the department of education for any and all of the purposes of teachers' housing, including the [~~planning,~~]:

(1) Planning, construction, maintenance, and operation of teachers' housing[~~, as well as for the salaries~~];

(2) Teacher housing assistance program pursuant to section 302A- ; and

(3) Salaries of the necessary personnel in charge thereof."

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the teachers' housing revolving fund the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 for the provision of housing vouchers through the teacher housing assistance program established by this Act.

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

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2514
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII