HB 1997 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.

Summary

Authorizes the inclusion of provisions addressing individualized accommodations and supports during emergency situations and evacuations in individualized education programs and section 504 plans for students with disabilities. Requires support and guidance from the Department of Education. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Last action Feb 20, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB1997_HD1 → HB1997_HD2 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to expand protections for students with disabilities by including those covered under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act in addition to those with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). This change ensures that students with disabilities who do not have an IEP but are protected under federal civil rights laws are also entitled to specific accommodations and support plans during emergency evacuations.

Scope change

The bill's scope was broadened to apply to both students with IEPs and students with Section 504 plans, whereas the original version only explicitly covered students with IEPs.

ELIGIBILITY

Expanded eligibility to include students with Section 504 plans alongside students with IEPs for emergency evacuation planning.

REQUIREMENT

Updated requirements to mandate that schools provide guidance and support to both IEP teams and Section 504 plan teams regarding emergency accommodations.

Changed the requirement for initial program development to consider accommodations for both IEP and Section 504 plan students during emergencies.

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 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on JHA as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1).

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Committee

Reported from PBS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 604-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to JHA.

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on PBS recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Belatti, Iwamoto, Hashem, Ichiyama, Morikawa, Poepoe, Woodson, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Committee

Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 205-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to PBS.

lower

Feb 10, 2026

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, Kapela, Kila, Olds, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDN, PBS, JHA, referral sheet 3

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

6 primary · 0 co-sponsors