STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1137-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1892

H.D. 3

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1892, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Require the exclusive representative for bargaining unit (5) to appoint a nonvoting public school teacher representative to the Board of Education; and

(2) Authorize the nonvoting public school teacher representative to participate in all Board meetings and enter executive sessions, except in certain matters related to collective bargaining or personnel issues.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association and Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi Education Caucus. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the United Public Workers, AFSCME Local 646, AFL-CIO and Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Board of Education and Office of Collective Bargaining.

Your Committee finds that the Board of Education makes significant statewide policy decisions that carry legal, governance, and constitutional implications, yet lacks formal representation from teachers who directly experience the effects of these decisions. Your Committee further finds that ensuring a teacher voice on the Board promotes transparency, fairness, and more informed policymaking. Your Committee believes that establishing a nonvoting teacher representative will strengthen the Board's deliberative process by embedding classroom level expertise into decisions that shape the State's educational and legal landscape.

Your Committee has amended this measure by clarifying that the appointed nonvoting public school teacher must be in good standing with the exclusive representative.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1892, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1892, H.D. 3.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair