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HB1346
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.B. NO.
1346
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating
to education
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION
1.
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The legislature finds that average
salaries for teachers in Hawaii generally fall in the middle of national rankings
of teachers' pay.
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However, once the
salaries of teachers in the State are adjusted for the cost of living, they are
the lowest-paid in the nation.
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The
national average salary for all teachers stands at approximately $30,086, when
cost of living is considered.
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However,
the average starting salary for teachers in Hawaii is $24,409, when adjusted
for cost of living.
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Furthermore,
the legislature finds that close to half of teachers in Hawaii are leaving the
profession or the State altogether within five years of starting, posing a
significant problem for students.
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Slightly more than nine hundred teachers were hired in 2013, but as of
2018, fewer than four hundred seventy of them remained in the classroom.
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Within the last five years, the number of
teachers leaving Hawaii has increased to seventy-one per cent.
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Only fifty-one per cent of teachers hired
during the 2013-2014 school year were still teaching in Hawaii five years
later, a decrease from fifty-four per cent during the previous year.
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As the State continues to address matters of
teacher recruitment and retention, it is crucial to support current teachers
now.
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The
purpose of this Act is to provide automatic step increases in teacher salaries for
each year of satisfactory service completed, subject to available funds.
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SECTION
2.
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Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and
to read as follows:
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�302A-
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Salary increases; annual, longevity.
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(a)
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Pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement negotiated for bargaining
unit (5) and subject to the availability of funds, teachers who have completed
a year's satisfactory service and who have complied with the other requirements
of sections 302A-602 to 302A-639, and 302A-701, as applicable, shall be
entitled to an annual increment.
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(b)
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Teachers who have served satisfactorily for
three years in their maximum increment step or in any longevity step and who
have complied with the other requirements of sections 302A-602 to 302A-639, and
302A-701, as applicable, shall receive longevity step increases, subject to the
availability of funds.
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SECTION
2.
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New statutory material is
underscored.
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SECTION 3.
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This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Salaries;
Teachers; Annual Increases
Description:
Pursuant
to a collective bargaining agreement negotiated for Bargaining Unit (5) and
subject to the availability of funds, provides annual salary step increases for
public school teachers who have completed a year's satisfactory service and
comply with specified requirements.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.