STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2329

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2687

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Education and Public Safety and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2687 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Department of Education to develop and implement a 100th Infantry Battalion history curricula plan beginning with the 2027-2028 school year;

(2) Establish a one-year 100th Infantry Battalion history curriculum pilot program within certain public high schools during the 2026-2027 school year; and

(3) Require a report to the Legislature.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans, Hawaii Military Affairs Council, and nineteen individuals.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from two individuals.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from Department of Education and one individual.

Your Committees find that the 100th Infantry Battalion, primarily composed of Japanese American soldiers from the State, holds a significant place in both local and national history. The Battalion's struggle against discrimination, notable victories, and enduring legacy offer local students a valuable opportunity to engage with and contextualize history. This measure elevates the State's social studies curricula by facilitating greater student engagement with their studies.

Your Committees acknowledge the concerns raised in testimony by the Department of Education that the existing Hawaii Core Standards for Social Studies offer multiple opportunities to meaningfully teach the history of the 100th Infantry Battalion and that the Department has already curated digital instructional resources on Asian American history and the 100th Infantry Battalion. However, your Committees find that the Department of Education should ensure that this content is available statewide and uniform across all public schools in the State, and that the pilot program contemplated by this measure could serve as a potential model or template for further integration. Therefore, amendments to this measure are necessary to address these matters.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have required the Department of Education to develop and implement a 100th Infantry Battalion history curricula plan beginning with the 2027-2028 school year;

(2) Inserting language that requires the Department of Education to submit a report on the statewide integration of engaging curricula relating to local history into existing social studies curricula at public schools to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2027;

(3) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Public Safety and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2687, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2687, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Public Safety and Military Affairs,

________________________________ CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair

________________________________ DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair