HB 288 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO SCHOOL BUS SERVICES.

Summary

Authorizes the Department of Education to use alternative vehicles for student transportation under certain conditions. Allows the Department of Education to institute a staggered school hours program in public schools. Appropriates funds for the purchase of alternative vehicles and individuals to obtain CDL licensure. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 16, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB288 → HB288_HD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill was revised to correct the title to reflect 'Staggered School Hours' instead of 'Staggered Start Times' and updated the expiration date of a referenced emergency proclamation from January 2025 to March 2025. The text was also cleaned up to remove redundant sections and ensure consistent formatting throughout the document.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on school bus services, but the specific mechanism for addressing driver shortages was clarified from 'staggered start times' to 'staggered school hours' to allow for more flexible scheduling.

TIMELINE

The expiration date for the governor's emergency proclamation regarding vehicle and driver rules was extended from January 26, 2025, to March 25, 2025.

SCOPE

The specific program name was changed from a 'staggered school start time program' to a 'staggered school hours program' to provide broader flexibility in scheduling.

TECHNICAL

A separate section defining the 'staggered school start time program' was removed and consolidated into the main findings and purpose sections to eliminate redundancy.

The effective date of the Act was changed to July 1, 3000, likely as a placeholder to indicate the bill does not expire automatically.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 13, 2025

Committee

Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 568) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 11, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 11 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Garrett, Kapela, Kila, Olds, Sayama, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to EDN, FIN, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 16, 2025

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

7 primary · 0 co-sponsors