STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3264

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1896

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 1896, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COMMUNITY SCHOOLS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Department of Education to support community schools.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education, Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network Speaks!, Hawaiʻi Afterschool Alliance, Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi Education Caucus, YMCA of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi State Literacy Coalition, HawaiiKidsCAN, Early Childhood Action Strategy, Ceeds of Peace, Partners in Development Foundation, Pacific American Foundation, Waikoloa Elementary and Middle School, Kaimuki Middle School's Kīpuka Garden Hui, and twenty-six individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the University of Hawaiʻi System and Department of Human Services.

Your Committee finds that many barriers to learning, including housing instability, unmet health needs, and food insecurity, are not confined to the classroom. Community schools can help address these barriers holistically in order to improve learning outcomes and strengthen community engagement by integrating high-quality educational opportunities with robust community partnerships. This measure will diversify the academic experience and foster a coordinated, integrated system of services that addresses students' academic, social, and developmental needs.

Your Committee notes the concerns expressed during the hearing on this measure that, although the mandate of public education was founded to address academics in kindergarten through twelfth grade, the duties of the Department of Education and educators have extended over the years to include greater age ranges and a broader variety of responsibilities, including health-, community-, and social-based needs. The expansion of the public education mandate has led to increased costs, higher teacher burnout rates, and administrative backlogs. Your Committee further finds that, while the term "community school" has traditionally been associated with academics, it has evolved to encompass a broader range of supports and services that the Department of Education may not be best suited to address. Accordingly, your Committee respectfully requests that subsequent Committees to which this measure is referred consider these issues as it moves through the legislative process.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 31, 2055, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1896, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1896, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

________________________________

DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair