This year, education proposals in the Hawaiʻi Legislature will focus on pressing issues like the recovery of Lahaina schools and wildfire prevention.
House Education Committee Vice Chair Trish La Chica said the top priorities are Lahaina's families, students, schools and prolonged issues, such as school transportation and recovery from learning loss.
"We're committed to action that prioritizes students' well-being, minimizes disruption, and ensures that their educational progress isn't hindered," La Chica said.
Last year, the House formed six working groups to gather input from Maui residents to create legislation that would aid in wildfire prevention. The Schools Working Group heard from dozens of frustrated parents and educators over publicizing the Department of Education's evacuation plan.
One bill in the House bipartisan package would require the Department of Education to make an evacuation and communication plan in case of a wildfire, as well as make it available for public schools statewide.
Curt Otaguro, the deputy superintendent of operations, told HPR in an October interview that the DOE had emergency plans for many threats, such as tsunamis and missiles. Although there were evacuation plans for building fires, there were none for brushfires.
Other measure components would require the DOE to work with the state Department of Transportation to develop emergency evacuation routes for all schools.
La Chica said the measure is primarily focused on preparedness and prevention.
"We will be in a better place to protect our students and educators in the event of a future disaster,” she said.
La Chica is also crafting measures to tackle the ongoing school bus driver shortage.
Before the 2024-2025 school year began, the DOE announced that they suspended routes impacting 14 schools on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi.The education department had offered free HOLO cards for public school students to take the city bus.
But La Chica said Pearl City High students still have to walk a mile to the nearest bus stop.
"The school bus driver shortage is not unique to us," she said. "I know that across the nation, we're experiencing workforce shortages across the board, but not being able to address this issue will continue to impact thousands of students across the state because it disrupts their school schedule and, eventually, their academic performance."
One measure she's drafting would authorize using motorcoaches, small buses and vans for transporting students until more bus drivers are hired.
Another bill would create standards for the education department's school bus services, such as conducting equity assessments before making any decisions related to reducing school bus services, establishing a prioritization system that gives preference to students who live beyond a certain distance from a school, and more.
In the higher education realm, Rep. Amy Perruso, who chairs the committee on higher education and transportation, said the focus will be on funding public education and recruiting teachers.
Perruso said she plans to introduce a bill to create the Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Program to help recruit and retain teachers in Hawaiʻi's public schools, which have long grappled with a chronic teacher shortage.
She also plans to introduce a measure to expand the Hawaiʻi Promise program from the University of Hawaiʻi's community colleges to four-year universities.
Perruso will also introduce a measure to expand the "last dollar" scholarship program at the University of Hawaiʻi.
For capital improvement projects, Perruso said she would introduce a bill to fund renovation to UH Mānoa's Hale Noelani dorms, which have been vacant for seven years due to disrepair.
But much of the focus will be on this legislative session's Maui recovery efforts.
"It's kind of hard to predict specific outcomes around that," Perruso said. "But I think that's my chief concern that we really center local families and their children in the rebuilding effort, and I have every confidence that the community is doing that. I am just hopeful that we as lawmakers can also do that."
