SB 2877 Hawaii Senate · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO EDUCATION.

Summary

Requires the Department of Education to establish a two-year Student-Authored Book Publication Pilot Program. Authorizes the Pilot Program to be conducted for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders at up to five Kalihi public elementary schools and up to five Nanakuli-Waianae public elementary schools to be integrated into existing curricula. Appropriates funds. (CD1)

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jul 2026

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Signed Jul 14, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB2877_HD1 → SB2877_SD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to remove the temporary 'pilot' language, making the student-authored book program a permanent requirement rather than a one-year trial. Additionally, the effective date was corrected from the erroneous year 3000 to 2026, and the program's scope was clarified to apply to all participating schools rather than just Kalihi.

Scope change

The program scope was expanded from a temporary pilot at Kalihi schools to a permanent requirement integrated into the existing grade five curricula of all participating schools.

TIMELINE

The effective date was corrected from July 1, 3000, to July 1, 2026.

SCOPE

The program is no longer a one-year pilot but a permanent requirement for participating schools.

ELIGIBILITY

The program is now required at all participating schools, removing the specific limitation to only Kalihi public elementary schools.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for teachers to select topics was changed from 'may' (optional) to 'shall' (mandatory).

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia, Muraoka, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (4) and none excused (0).

lower

May 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . 0 No(es): none. 0 Excused: none.

upper

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 135-26) as amended in (CD 1).

lower

May 1, 2026

Introduced

48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26.

upper

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 135-26).

upper

May 1, 2026

Lower · Passed

The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 2 Ayes: Representative(s) La Chica, Lee, M.; Ayes with reservations: none; 1 Noes: Representative(s) Muraoka; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

May 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Kidani, Hashimoto, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Apr 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 05-01-26 1:30PM in conference room 229.

lower

Apr 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Thursday 04-30-26 1:37PM in conference room 229.

lower

Apr 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Wednesday 04-29-26 1:30PM in conference room 229.

lower

Apr 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-28-26 1:30PM; Conference Room 229.

upper

Apr 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-24-26 4:15PM; Conference Room 229.

upper

Apr 10, 2026

Amended

Senate disagrees with House amendments.

upper

Apr 10, 2026

Introduced

Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 523).

upper

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia, Muraoka, Pierick, Shimizu voting no (4) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

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; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Morikawa.

lower

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1509-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Mar 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Kapela, Olds, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Garrett, Kila.

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDN, FIN, referral sheet 16

lower

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 84) in amended form (SD 1).

lower

Mar 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 1 (Senator(s) Ihara). Transmitted to House.

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 13 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 02-25-26 10:55AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Reported from EDU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2337) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDU were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Kidani, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Fukunaga, Hashimoto.

upper

Feb 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 02-11-26 1:30PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Committee

Referred to EDU, WAM.

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Introduced.

upper

8 primary · 2 co-sponsors