Gov. Josh Green signed a bill into law this week that creates a "harm to students registry" for all preschools and K-12 schools statewide.
The new law aims to crack down on predators working in Hawaiʻi's public and private schools. The registry would contain information on school employees, contractors or volunteers who were found to have inflicted harm on a student.
That includes subjecting students to “abusive acts or sexual exploitation, whether with, to, or in the presence of a student,” according to the new law.
The registry system, which is the first of its kind in Hawai‘i, is housed under the state Department of Education but shared internally with preschools, private, public and charter schools.
“It’s a means for us to improve our communication and enhance our communication so we’re able to share information with each other to keep our students safe,” DOE Superintendent Keith Hayashi told HPR.
He said there can be unforeseen challenges when rolling out any new system. But since implementing it on Monday, so far, there is no one registered.
The registry will contain vital information on a school employee, such as their full legal name, date of birth, photograph, last known address, workplace and any pending investigations.
It’s unclear how long it would take to register a person's name in this system, but Hayashi said it should be “as quickly as possible.”
