HR 171 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO CONVENE A SHARED-DECISION MAKING COMMITTEE TO DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN TO ESTABLISH A K-12 KAIAPUNI SCHOOL IN KAPOLEI.

This House Resolution asks the Hawaii Department of Education to create a committee to plan a new K-12 Hawaiian language immersion school in Kapolei. The committee would include education officials, teachers, community members, and parents to develop an action plan that addresses facility needs, teacher recruitment, and curriculum development. The resolution outlines a phased timeline to open kindergarten through second grade by the 2027-2028 school year, with additional grades added in subsequent years. It also requests that the Department of Education allocate initial faculty and administrative positions to support the program's launch.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 16, 2026 Last action Apr 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HR171 → HR171_HD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill was updated to change the legislative session dates for reporting requirements from 2027 to 2027 and 2028, and then to a final report due by 2029. The committee's specific action plan requirements were reordered and expanded to prioritize hiring qualified Hawaiian language teachers before securing a permanent school site. Additionally, the bill's formatting and metadata were updated to reflect a new author and revised dates.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding the committee's timeline was expanded to include an intermediate progress report for the 2028 session, while the final report deadline was extended to the 2029 session.

TIMELINE

The deadline for the committee's final report was extended from the 2027 Regular Session to the 2029 Regular Session, and a new requirement was added to submit a progress report by the 2028 Regular Session.

REQUIREMENT

The specific steps for the action plan were reordered and modified; the requirement to hire qualified Hawaiian language teachers was moved to the first priority, preceding the requirement to secure a permanent school site.

TECHNICAL

The bill's metadata, including the author name, file references, and session dates, were updated to reflect new administrative details.

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

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Resolution adopted in final form.

lower

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Adopted with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1).

lower

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1935-26), recommending adoption.

lower

Apr 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Morikawa.

lower

Apr 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Apr 2, 2026

Committee

Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1768-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending referral to FIN.

lower

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Kapela, Olds; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 4 Excused: Representative(s) Garrett, Kila, Muraoka, Souza.

lower

Mar 18, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDN, FIN, referral sheet 19

lower

Mar 16, 2026

Introduced

Offered

lower

17 primary · 0 co-sponsors