STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 555
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2025
RE: H.B. No. 624
H.D. 1
Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2025
State of Hawaii
Madame:
Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 624, H.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to establish the School Psychologists Working Group within the
Department of Education to recommend actionable steps or propose legislation to
the Legislature on an immediate pathway to licensure for school psychologists
in 2026.
Your Committee
received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education; Board of
Psychology; Hawai‘i
Primary Care Association; Hawaiʻi Association of School Psychologists;
Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO; and nine
individuals.
Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaiʻi Psychological Association.
Your Committee finds that school
psychologists are uniquely qualified professionals who provide a comprehensive
range of learning, mental, and behavioral health services in schools. Importantly, school psychologists are not
interchangeable with other psychologists, as they possess a specific set of
knowledge and skills that are tailored to educational settings. It is for this reason that school psychology
is a recognized specialty of psychology by the American Psychological
Association (APA); the APA's Model Licensure Act maintains the importance of a
distinct license/certification for school psychologists separate and apart from
other psychology professionals.
Your Committee further
finds that Hawaii is the only state in the United States that has not
established credentialing requirements for the practice of school psychology and
use of the title "School Psychologist". This measure will allow the Legislature to
gather further information to determine the most appropriate form of regulation
for persons who practice school psychology.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 624, H.D. 1, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,
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____________________________ SCOT Z. MATAYOSHI, Chair |
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