STAND. COM. REP. NO. 465

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: H.B. No. 754

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 Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 754 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COMMUNITY SCHOOLS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Department of Education for community schools, including for one full-time equivalent program manager position.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association; Pacific Resources for Education and Learning; YMCA of Honolulu; University of Hawaii Place-based Afterschool Literacy Support Team; Ceeds of Peace; Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network Speaks!; Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi Education Caucus; Harold K.L. Castle Foundation; Hawaiʻi Afterschool Alliance; and eight individuals. Your Committee received testimony in support of the intent of this measure from the Department of Education. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services.

Your Committee finds that community schools help align and leverage resources already in the community to address students' barriers to learning. Community schools are a proven, time-tested strategy that can produce short-term results, including improving family engagement and attendance and decreasing behavioral referrals, and long-term results like improving academic scores, school culture and climate, student enrollment, teacher retention, and graduation rates. This measure will provide funding for community schools to ensure high‑quality educational opportunities and improved educational outcomes for students through the support and input from families of students and the local community.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 754, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 754, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

____________________________

JUSTIN H. WOODSON, Chair