STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1289-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: S.B. No. 2125

S.D. 1

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 S.B. No. 2125, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TEACHER LICENSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Authorize the Department of Education to hire unlicensed individuals as teachers on an emergency basis for five years, rather than three years; and

(2) Require that unlicensed teachers hired on an emergency basis make continuous and verifiable progress toward satisfying teacher licensing requirements.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education; Executive Office on Early Learning; Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association; Teacher Lounge; and numerous individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaiʻi Teacher Standards Board. Your Committee received comments on this measure from one individual.

Your Committee finds that persistent teacher shortages, particularly in hard‑to‑staff subject areas and geographic regions, continue to challenge the Department of Education's ability to provide consistent instructional services to students statewide. Your Committee further finds that the Department of Education has relied on the emergency hiring of unlicensed teachers to ensure classroom coverage; however, existing statutory limitations may constrain the Department's flexibility to respond to ongoing workforce needs. This measure increases the three‑year employment limit for unlicensed teachers hired on an emergency basis to five years, while requiring such individuals to demonstrate continuous and verifiable progress toward meeting teacher licensing requirements. This will appropriately balance the need for instructional continuity with the State's interest in maintaining professional standards for the teaching workforce and supporting pathways toward full licensure.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

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

(2) 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 S.B. No. 2125, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2125, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Labor.

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

____________________________

JUSTIN H. WOODSON, Chair