§302A-802 Licensing standards; policies. (a) The board shall establish licensing standards that govern teacher licensing in Hawaii. Licensing standards established by the board shall be adopted as rules under chapter 91 unless otherwise specified in this subpart.
(b) In the development of its standards, the board shall consider the existing teacher applicant pool that is available in the State and the level of the qualification of these applicants, as well as the nature and availability of existing preservice higher education teacher training programs.
(c) The board shall adopt policies, exempt from chapters 91 and 92, to initiate the following:
(1) Develop a plan for licensing more individuals with practical experience for teaching in vocational/technical programs;
(2) Develop a plan to accept teachers from any state as long as they have completed state-approved teacher education programs and pass relevant Hawaii teacher examinations or their equivalent;
(3) Clarify the requirements, on a state-by-state basis, for out-of-state licensed teachers to obtain a license in Hawaii;
(4) Develop a plan to facilitate licensing for those who intend to teach in Hawaii immersion programs, the island of Niihau, or any other [extraordinary] situation as defined by the [superintendent] or the superintendent's designee; and
(5) Pursue full teacher license reciprocity with the mid-Atlantic states, California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Washington. [L 1996, c 89, pt of §2; am L 2001, c 312, pt of §10, §13; am L 2002, c 16, §18; am L 2005, c 159, §12]