STAND. COM. REP. NO. 317-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2293

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 2293 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HARM TO STUDENTS REGISTRY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to clarify the scope of the Department of Education's harm-to-students registry by:

(1) Including contractors and volunteers if their roles involve close contact with students; and

(2) Exempting individuals enrolled as a K-12 student at an institution at the time of their employment at the institution.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education and Hawaii Association of Independent Schools.

Your Committee finds that, pursuant to Act 156, Session Laws of Hawaii 2024, the Department of Education was required to establish a harm-to-students registry to prevent individuals who have harmed students from being employed or volunteering in roles that provide access to students. This measure refines the scope of the harm-to-students registry to ensure that the registry applies specifically to adults and outside individuals who may pose a direct risk to students, while avoiding the over-inclusion of individuals with no student contact and students themselves.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that contractors and volunteers who perform any role that involves interaction with a student, rather than close contact, may be included in the harm-to-students registry;

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000; and

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

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. 2293, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2293, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

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

____________________________

JUSTIN H. WOODSON, Chair