HB323 • 2026

RELATING TO TEACHER HOUSING.

Budget Education Housing

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: KAPELA, CHUN, IWAMOTO, LOWEN, OLDS, POEPOE, TODD
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not specify which hard-to-staff schools will be eligible for the program or how many vouchers will be available each year.

Teacher Housing Assistance Program

This bill establishes a program to provide housing vouchers to eligible full-time teachers working at hard-to-staff schools in Hawaii.

What This Bill Does

Establishes the Teacher Housing Assistance Program to provide housing vouchers to certain eligible full-time teachers who work at hard-to-staff schools.
Limits the amount of a voucher to $500 per month or the teacher's monthly rent/mortgage payment, whichever is less.
Requires the Department of Education to develop an application process and lottery system if there are more applicants than vouchers available.
Appropriates funds from the Teachers' Housing Revolving Fund for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027.

Who It Names or Affects

Full-time teachers who work at hard-to-staff schools in Hawaii.
The Department of Education, which will manage the program and distribute vouchers.

Terms To Know

Housing Voucher: A certificate or coupon that can be used towards housing costs like rent or a mortgage payment.
Hard-to-Staff School: A school that has difficulty hiring and keeping teachers, often due to location or other challenges.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how many vouchers will be available each year.
It is unclear if the Teachers' Housing Revolving Fund will have enough money to support the program long-term.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment establishes a teacher housing assistance program to provide housing vouchers to eligible full-time teachers who commit to teach at hard-to-staff public schools or charter schools.

Adds a new section in Chapter 302A of Hawaii Revised Statutes to establish the Teacher Housing Assistance Program, which provides housing vouchers for rent, mortgage payments, and down payments on primary residences.
Amends Section 302A-833(b) to include the teacher housing assistance program as one of the purposes of the teachers' housing revolving fund.
Appropriates funds from the Teachers' Housing Revolving Fund for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 to support the provision of housing vouchers through the new teacher housing assistance program.

The exact dollar amount for monthly housing vouchers is not specified in the amendment text.
The percentage threshold for household income relative to area median income for eligibility is not provided.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-02-12 H
The committee(s) on HSG recommend(s) that the measure be deferred.
2025-02-06 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by HSG on Wednesday, 02-12-25 9:00AM in House conference room 430 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-02-03 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on HSG with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and Representative(s) Cochran, Ward excused (2).
2025-02-03 H
Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 47) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to HSG.
2025-01-28 H
The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 11 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Garrett, Kapela, Kila, Olds, Sayama, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
2025-01-24 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by EDN on Tuesday, 01-28-25 2:00PM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-21 H
Referred to EDN, HSG, FIN, referral sheet 1
2025-01-17 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-16 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO TEACHER HOUSING.
Teacher Housing Assistance Program; Teacher Recruitment and Retention; Teachers' Housing Revolving Fund; Appropriation ($)
Establishes the Teacher Housing Assistance Program to provide housing vouchers to certain eligible teachers. Appropriates funds out of the Teachers' Housing Revolving Fund. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB323

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

323

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO TEACHER HOUSING
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that approximately ten
per cent of the State's teachers switch schools, relocate, or leave the
profession each year.
�
Only fifty to
sixty per cent of current teachers have been at their school for five years or
more.
�
Chronic teacher turnover forces
the department of education to rely on emergency hires and substitute teachers
to fill vacancies.
�
The legislature
further finds that teacher recruitment and retention is especially difficult at
hard-to-staff schools.

����
The legislature additionally finds
that Hawaii's high cost of living is a significant contributing factor in the
department of education's teacher recruitment and retention efforts.
�
According to a WalletHub study, Hawaii ranked
fifty-first out of fifty states and the District of Columbia for starting
teacher salary and median teacher salary, adjusted for cost of living.

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The purpose of this Act is to
alleviate the financial burden on teachers and improve teacher recruitment and
retention by establishing a teacher housing assistance program to provide
housing vouchers to qualified full-time teachers who are employed by the
department of education and teach at a hard‑to‑staff school, as
determined by the department, including public charter schools.

����
SECTION 2.
�
Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new section to subpart E, part III to be appropriately
designated and to read as follows:

����
"
�302A-
�
Teacher housing assistance program.
�
(a)
�

There is established a teacher housing assistance program to be
administered by the department to provide housing vouchers to eligible
teachers.
�
If the number of applications
exceeds the number of available housing vouchers, housing vouchers shall be
provided to eligible teachers through a lottery process.

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(b)
�
A housing voucher provided under this section
shall be used for:

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(1)
�
Rent for the eligible
teacher's primary residence;

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(2)
�
Mortgage
payments for the eligible teacher's primary residence; or

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(3)
�
Down payment on
residential real property; provided that the property shall be the eligible
teacher's primary residence.

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(c)
�
A housing voucher shall not exceed $500 per
month or the eligible teacher's monthly rent or mortgage payment, whichever is
less.
�
A housing voucher granted pursuant
to this section shall be applicable for one year.
�
The voucher shall be renewable for one
additional year.

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(d)
�
Upon the establishment of the teacher housing
assistance program, the department shall develop an application procedure and
processes, procedures, and forms necessary to implement and maintain the
program.
�
The department shall work with
the state public charter school commission to develop a process to verify that an
eligible teacher satisfies the criteria listed in subsection (f).

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(e)
�
The department may adopt rules pursuant to
chapter 91 to effectuate the purpose of this section.

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(f)
�
For the purposes of this section, an
"eligible teacher" means a person who:

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(1)
�
Is a full-time
teacher;

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(2)
�
Has taught at a
school in the State for at least one year prior to the application date;

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(3)
�
Is
employed by the department of education;

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(4)
�
Commits to
teach at a hard-to-staff school, as determined by the department of education,
or a public charter school for no less than five consecutive years;

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(5)
�
Resides in the
State;

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(6)
�
Does not own,
operate, rent, or control any residential real property in addition to the
eligible teacher's primary residence for which the housing voucher is sought;
and

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(7)
�
Has a household
income below per cent of the area median income.
"

����
SECTION
3
.
�
Section
302A-833, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to
read as follows:

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"(b)
�
The revolving fund may be used by the
department of education for any and all of the purposes of teachers' housing,
including the [
planning,
]
:

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(1)
�
Planning,

construction, maintenance, and operation of teachers' housing[
, as well as
for the salaries
]
;

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(2)
�
Teacher housing
assistance program pursuant to section 302A- ; and

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(3)
�
Salaries
of
the necessary personnel in charge thereof."

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SECTION
4
.
�
There is appropriated out of the
teachers' housing revolving fund the sum of $
or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026
and the
same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027

for the provision of housing
vouchers through the teacher housing assistance program established by this
Act.

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The sums appropriated shall be expended by
the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

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SECTION 5.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

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SECTION 6.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Teacher Housing
Assistance Program; Teacher Recruitment and Retention; Teachers' Housing
Revolving Fund; Appropriation

Description:

Establishes
the Teacher Housing Assistance Program to provide housing vouchers to certain
eligible teachers.
�
Appropriates funds
out of the Teachers' Housing Revolving Fund.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.