STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3602

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 162

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 Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 162 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO CONVENE A SHARED-DECISION MAKING COMMITTEE TO DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN TO ESTABLISH A K-12 KAIAPUNI SCHOOL IN KAPOLEI,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Department of Education to convene a shared decision-making committee to develop an action plan to establish a K-12 Kaiapuni school in Kapolei.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from Changemakers Hawaiʻi, Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Ke ʻAlohi ʻO ʻEwa, Pearl City Neighborhood Board, and twenty-four individuals.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the University of Hawaiʻi System, Department of Education, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, ʻAha Kauleo, and one individual.

Your Committees find that long-standing systemic gaps in Hawaiian Immersion education have prevented the State from fully fulfilling its constitutional obligation to promote the study of Hawaiian culture, history, and language. Kaiapuni education is essential to building identity, cultural continuity, and community resilience among Native Hawaiians. This measure seeks to increase capacity in the State's Kaiapuni educational system to expand access and safeguard continuity of culturally grounded education within local communities.

Your Committees note that the proposed new Kaiapuni school in Kapolei discussed in this measure would be for K-12 students and therefore finds that input from parents and leaders of existing elementary schools and programs would help improve the requested action plan. Therefore, amendments to this measure are necessary to address this matter.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Requesting that the shared decision-making committee:

(A) Include principals from relevant elementary schools, such as Nanakuli Elementary School and Waiau Elementary School; and

(B) Include an additional parent of a current student of an elementary Kaiapuni program;

(2) Inserting language that requests the action plan to include the predicted statewide impact of establishing a new Kaiapuni K-12 school in Kapolei on existing Kaiapuni schools and programs; and

(3) 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 Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 162, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 162, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Hawaiian Affairs,

________________________________ HERBERT M. RICHARDS, III, Chair

________________________________ DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair