STAND. COM. REP. NO. 490-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2344

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. 2344 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Establish and appropriate funds for a temporary, independent Public School Realignment And Closure Commission to review the State's public school facilities and recommend a comprehensive package of consolidations, realignments, or closures; and

(2) Require an expedited, approval process by the Governor and the Legislature using the recommendations made by the Commission.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one individual. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO; and United Public Workers, AFSCME Local 646, AFL-CIO. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Board of Education; Department of Education; Department of the Attorney General; Department of Accounting and General Services; and School Facilities Authority.

Your Committee finds that, while statewide public school enrollment has remained nearly unchanged since 1961, the number of schools has increased by approximately twenty percent. To meet the demands fueled by enrollment growth, the construction of new campuses were needed. However, the recent and continuing decline in student numbers has left many facilities underutilized, creating operational inefficiencies and diverting resources that could support student learning or modernize facilities in high-need areas.

Your Committee notes that because of declining enrollment, potential reductions in federal funding, and the State's need for fiscal prudence, a proactive and data-driven process is required to optimize the public school system for the twenty-first century. This measure establishes an independent commission to evaluate the future of the State's public school facilities and make recommendations that require an "all‑or‑nothing" vote to ensure that decisions are guided by objective data and the overall public interest, rather than localized political pressures.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requiring that one of the members of the Public School Realignment and Closure Commission be an educational administrator;

(2) Clarifying that the Department of Accounting and General Services shall provide to the Commission any administrative support the Department deems necessary to fulfill the duties of the Commission;

(3) Clarifying that the Governor is required to approve or disapprove the Commission's original report or revised report in its entirety, without amendment, and transmit the original report or revised report, if the appropriate report is approved, to the Legislature for final consideration;

(4) Deleting language that would have transferred the jurisdiction and control over any real property of a school closed pursuant to this measure to the School Facilities Authority for disposition;

(5) Changing the appropriation to an unspecified amount;

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

(7) 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. 2344, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2344, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

JUSTIN H. WOODSON, Chair