HB 1496 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

Summary

Establishes the position of Ka Papahana Kaiapuni Program Complex Area Superintendent. Requires that at least one at-large member of the Board of Education be a proficient Hawaiian speaking educator, practitioner, or scholar of Hawaiian studies or the Hawaiian language, to be selected from a list of three nominees submitted by the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Clarifies the purpose and objective of the Hawaiian Language Medium Education Program. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

House Passage

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1496_HD1 → HB1496_HD2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to replace the term 'Hawaiian educator' with 'proficient Hawaiian speaking educator' in multiple sections. This change clarifies that board members and superintendents must actively speak the language, rather than just having professional experience in Hawaiian education. The amendment also updated the report title and summary to reflect this new requirement.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding personnel qualifications was narrowed to explicitly require active language proficiency for specific roles.

ELIGIBILITY

Changed the requirement for at-large Board of Education members from being a 'Hawaiian educator' to being a 'proficient Hawaiian speaking educator', ensuring the appointee can actively use the language.

Updated the qualification for the Ka Papahana Kaiapuni Complex Area Superintendent to require them to be a 'proficient Hawaiian language speaking' professional.

Revised the nomination criteria for board members to specify that nominees must be 'proficient Hawaiian speaking educators' rather than just experts in Hawaiian immersion.

TECHNICAL

Updated the report title and legislative summary to reflect the new 'proficient Hawaiian speaking' language requirement.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the House by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 14, 2025

Lower · Passed

Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Matayoshi, Poepoe, Ward excused (4).

lower

Feb 14, 2025

Committee

Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 789) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 11, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Kahaloa, Perruso, Takayama, Todd, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran, Hashem.

lower

Feb 5, 2025

Committee

Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 178) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Jan 30, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Garrett, Kila, Olds, Sayama, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Kapela.

lower

Jan 27, 2025

Committee

Referred to EDN, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 4

lower

Jan 23, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

20 primary · 0 co-sponsors