STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3517

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.R. No. 184

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.R. No. 184 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEVELOP A STANDARDIZED BELL SCHEDULE FRAMEWORK FOR DEPARTMENT SCHOOLS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Department of Education to develop a standardized bell schedule framework for department schools.

Your Committee did not receive any testimony on this measure.

Your Committee finds that variations in school start and end times across public schools and complex areas create significant logistical challenges for families with children at multiple grade levels. The absence of a standardized bell schedule also hinders families' abilities to coordinate with community programs, athletics, and extracurricular activities, therefore limiting students' participation in essential developmental opportunities outside the classroom. This measure seeks to support student well-being while improving operational efficiency.

Your Committee acknowledges the concerns raised in testimony by the Department of Education that requiring a standardized schedule for every department school would create a one-size fits all framework that would hinder each school's capacity to address its unique academic, demographic, geographic, and operational nuances for increased student achievement within distinctive communities. Your Committee further notes the Department's testimony that it already plans to convene a stakeholder group to revise the default model bell schedules used in the existing collaborative decision-making process to approve each school-level bell schedule pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement with the Hawaii State Teachers Association. However, the Department has no plan to establish a process for evaluating school-level bell schedules from a regional perspective before approval. Therefore, amendments to this measure are necessary to address these matters.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the Department of Education is requested to develop a proposal for a tiered, coordinated, and standardized bell schedule framework;

(2) Requesting that the proposed framework developed pursuant to this measure also consider coordination of noninstructional waiver days across schools or complex areas;

(3) Inserting language that requests the Department of Education to submit its proposal to the Legislature no later than thirty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2027;

(4) Inserting legislative findings to reflect its amended purpose;

(5) Amending its title accordingly; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 184, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 184, S.D. 1.

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

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DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair