HB1770 HD1

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that safe, reliable, and timely student transportation is a critical component of the State's public education system and is essential to ensuring equitable access to educational opportunities for students across the State.

The legislature further finds that the State continues to experience a severe and persistent shortage of qualified school bus drivers, resulting in delayed routes, service disruptions, and, in some cases, the elimination of bus service for students and families. These shortages disproportionately affect rural, remote, and hard-to-reach communities, particularly on the neighbor islands, where geographic isolation, long travel distances, limited labor pools, high costs of living, and competition with private-sector commercial driving opportunities create significant barriers to recruitment and retention.

The legislature additionally finds that the current pathway to becoming a school bus driver in the State requires the completion of specific training, testing, and commercial driver licensing requirements, including access to certified instructors, testing sites, and credentialing services that are often concentrated on Oʻahu or in limited locations. The legislature recognizes that restricted access to these credentialing and licensing opportunities creates significant logistical and financial barriers for prospective drivers residing on the neighbor islands, where travel costs, time away from work or family, and limited scheduling availability discourage participation in the profession. Expanding access to training, testing, and credentialing opportunities on the neighbor islands is therefore essential to strengthening the school bus driver workforce and ensuring that rural and hard-to-reach areas can recruit and retain drivers from within their own communities.

The legislature recognizes that the absence of a comprehensive, statewide strategy to recruit, train, and retain school bus drivers has exacerbated inequities between urban and rural areas and has placed additional burdens on working families, kūpuna caregivers, and students who rely on school bus services as their primary means of transportation to and from school.

The legislature also finds that targeted financial incentives, including recruitment grants and signing bonuses with repayment provisions, are necessary to attract new drivers, support training and licensing costs, and build a sustainable pipeline of school bus drivers who reflect and understand the communities they serve.

The purpose of this Act is to ensure safe, equitable, and reliable student transportation and address the school bus driver shortage, with particular attention to the unique challenges faced by rural and neighbor island school districts, by:

(1) Requiring the department of education to establish a school bus driver recruitment grant program;

(2) Establishing a school bus driver recruitment special fund;

(3) Establishing a repayment signing bonus program;

(4) Requiring a report to the legislature; and

(5) Appropriating funds.

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

"§302A-A School bus driver recruitment grant program. (a) There is established within the department a school bus driver recruitment grant program to help increase the State's recruitment and retention of school bus drivers.

(b) The program shall authorize grants to:

(1) Fund the requirements to obtain commercial learner's permits pursuant to section 286-238.2;

(2) Fund the requirements for the issuance of commercial driver's licenses pursuant to section 286-236;

(3) Provide for additional costs relating to commercial driver's licenses and commercial learner's permits, including but not limited to applications, testing, driver training, and medical fees;

(4) Fund commercial driver's license and school bus driver training courses, including but not limited to courses related to class A and class B commercial driver's licenses and school bus endorsements;

(5) Fund costs for community colleges and the university of Hawaii to conduct bus driver training courses; and

(6) Fund mobile bus driver training units that may travel to neighbor islands, as appropriate.

department and contain the information as shall be required by

rules adopted thereunder. At a minimum, the applicant shall:

(1) Be a licensed driver;

(2) Agree to use state funds exclusively for the purposes of this program;

(3) Indicate capability to properly use the grant for the purpose of this program;

(4) Comply with other requirements as the department may prescribe;

(5) Comply with all applicable federal, state, and county statutes, rules, and ordinances;

(6) Agree to indemnify and save harmless the State and its officers, agents, and employees from and against any and all claims arising out of or resulting from the use of grants for this program, and procure sufficient insurance to provide this indemnification if requested to do so by the department; and

(7) Agree to make available to the department all records the applicant may have relating to the grant, to allow state agencies to monitor the applicant's compliance with this section.

§302A-B School bus driver recruitment special fund. (a) There is established the school bus driver recruitment special fund to be administered by the department into which shall be deposited:

(1) Appropriations by the legislature;

(2) State and federal grants;

(3) Any moneys collected pursuant to part XIII of chapter 286, except any fees collected pursuant to section 286-245(g); and

(4) All interest earned or accrued on moneys deposited in the special fund.

(b) Moneys in the special fund shall be expended exclusively for the purposes of administering the school bus driver recruitment grant program pursuant to section 302A-A."

SECTION 3. (a) There is established a repayment signing bonus program to be administered by the department of education.

(b) The repayment signing bonus program shall authorize and disburse a one-time signing bonus of $2,000 to an individual with a commercial driver's license at the time the individual is hired as a school bus driver with the department of education.

(c) Any school bus driver who leaves employment voluntarily or is terminated before completing thirty-six months of employment shall repay the full money amount that the school bus driver received from the repayment signing bonus program pursuant to subsection (b).

(d) All moneys collected from the repayment signing bonus program shall be deposited into the general fund.

(e) The department shall adopt rules under chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to effectuate the purposes of this section.

SECTION 4. The department of education shall submit quarterly reports to the legislature on its findings, including but not limited to:

(1) The total school bus driver vacancies by county;

(2) School bus driver applications, school bus driver position offers, and positions accepted by county;

(3) Number of trainees who obtained a commercial driver's license and school bus endorsement under the school bus driver recruitment grant program established pursuant to this Act;

(4) The length of time between when an individual starts the school bus driver recruitment grant program and when they obtain a school bus driver position;

(5) The total school bus driver hires and separations;

(6) The number of canceled routes or restored routes attributed to the school bus driver recruitment grant program;

(7) School bus driver retention at six, twelve, and twenty-four months;

(8) The cost for each participant of the school bus driver recruitment grant program;

(9) The average school bus driver hourly wage;

(10) The amounts expended by the school bus driver recruitment special fund and the school bus driver recruitment grant program;

(11) An assessment of the school bus driver recruitment grant program; and

(12) Specific barriers encountered and any proposed legislation.

Each report shall be posted to the department of education's website and be available for public review.

SECTION 5. 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 2026-2027 to be deposited into the school bus driver recruitment special fund.

SECTION 6. There is appropriated out of the school bus driver recruitment special fund the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 to provide grants for the school bus driver recruitment grant program.

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

SECTION 7. 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 2026-2027 to provide signing bonuses for the repayment signing bonus program.

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

SECTION 8. In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 9. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1770
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII