RELATING TO THE SAFETY OF EDUCATIONAL WORKERS.

Education Labor

Active

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

Sponsor: WOODSON (Introduced by request of another party)
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on the enforcement or monitoring mechanisms.

Rules for Protecting Educational Workers from Harassment

This bill requires the Department of Education (DOE) and public charter schools to report harassment incidents, implement procedures to handle them, and provide training on de-escalation techniques.

What This Bill Does

Requires DOE and public charter schools to investigate reports of harassment by educational workers.
Requires DOE and public charter schools to inform law enforcement within 48 hours if a reported incident involves potential physical harm.
Requires DOE and public charter schools to create procedures for handling harassment, which must be provided annually to employees and posted online.
Requires DOE and public charter schools to develop emergency safety plans that consider suggestions from educational workers.
Allows educational workers seeking legal protection from harassment to take paid leave to attend court proceedings.

Who It Names or Affects

Educational workers, including administrators, specialists, counselors, teachers, and other employees of the DOE and public charter schools.

Terms To Know

educational worker: Any person working in a school setting for the Department of Education or a public charter school, including volunteers and contract workers.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if schools do not follow these requirements.
It is unclear how this will be enforced or monitored by the state.
The effective date for this act is set far in the future (July 1, 3000), which may indicate it needs further review.

Amendments

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

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment adds new sections to Hawaii Revised Statutes to protect educational workers from harassment by requiring schools and departments to investigate incidents, report threats of physical harm promptly, provide training on de-escalation techniques, and offer paid leave for court-related obligations.

Adds requirements for the Department of Education and public charter schools to conduct formal investigations into reported harassment incidents involving educational workers.
Requires immediate reporting to law enforcement if a harassment incident poses a threat of physical harm within forty-eight hours.
Establishes procedures for handling harassment, including annual training on de-escalation techniques and posting these procedures online.
Provides paid leave for educational workers seeking judicial protection from harassment.

The text is truncated at the end, so some details about public charter schools' responsibilities are not fully provided.

HD2

Hawaii published version HD2

Plain English: The amendment adds new sections to Hawaii Revised Statutes to protect educational workers from harassment by allowing them to take leave with pay when seeking legal protection and requiring schools to investigate and report incidents.

Educational workers can now take paid leave if they need to attend court proceedings related to harassment protection, such as obtaining a temporary restraining order.
Schools must formally investigate any reported instances of harassment by educational workers and report serious threats to law enforcement within 48 hours.
Schools are required to implement procedures for handling harassment cases and provide annual training on de-escalation techniques.

The exact wording and numbering of the new sections in Hawaii Revised Statutes is not provided, making it unclear how these changes will be officially designated.
Some parts of the amendment text are truncated or incomplete, which limits a full understanding of all requirements and protections.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-02-14 H
Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Matayoshi, Poepoe, Ward excused (4).
2025-02-14 H
Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 738) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.
2025-02-11 H
The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Kahaloa, Perruso, Takayama, Todd, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran, Hashem.
2025-02-07 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by JHA on Tuesday, 02-11-25 2:00PM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-02-05 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Ward excused (2).
2025-02-05 H
Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 177) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.
2025-01-30 H
The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Garrett, Kila, Olds, Sayama, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Kapela.
2025-01-28 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by EDN on Thursday, 01-30-25 2:00PM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-21 H
Referred to EDN, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 2
2025-01-21 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-17 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO THE SAFETY OF EDUCATIONAL WORKERS.
DOE; Public Charter Schools; Educational Workers; Protection and Workplace Safety; Harassment
Requires the Department of Education and public charter schools to take certain steps to report incidents of harassment and implement procedures for handling harassment of educational workers. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB616

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

616

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to the safety of educational workers
.

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

����
SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that department of
education employees play an important role in shaping the future and ensuring
the welfare of the State's children.
�

Increasing safeguards for educational workers who may encounter
instances of harassment, and the establishment of a mechanism to address this
harassment, is essential to ensuring a secure and conducive environment for
educators and students in the State.

����
The purpose of this Act is to
provide increased protection for educational workers by requiring the
department of education and state public charter schools to take certain steps
to better address the harassment of educational workers.

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

����
"
�302A-
�
Educational
workers; protection and workplace safety; harassment; reporting; training.
�
(a)
An educational worker shall not be required to work under conditions or perform
tasks when the educational worker is being subjected to harassment.

����
(b)
�
When any educational worker believes that the
educational worker is being subjected to harassment, the educational worker may
inform the educational worker's immediate supervisor, who shall take
appropriate action using the procedures established pursuant to subsection
(d)(3).

����
(c)
�
An educational worker who seeks judicial
protection from harassment, including obtaining a temporary restraining order,
shall be entitled to a leave of absence with pay to attend court proceedings
related to the protection.
�
The duration
of the leave of absence with pay shall be reasonable and sufficient to allow
the educational worker to fulfill their court-related obligations.

����
(d)
�
The department shall:

����
(1)
�
Conduct a
formal investigation of all incidents of harassment submitted to the department
by an educational worker pursuant to subsection (b);

����
(2)
�
Report to the
proper law enforcement authority within forty-eight hours all incidents of
harassment submitted to the department by an educational worker pursuant to
subsection (b), where the incident of harassment involves a potential threat of
physical harm to the educational worker or another person;

����
(3)
�
Implement
procedures for the handling of harassment of educational workers, including
educational workers excluded from collective bargaining under chapter 89;
provided that:

���������
(A)
�
The
procedures shall be included in the department's opening of the school year
packet provided to all department employees annually; and

���������
(B)
�
The
procedures shall be posted on the department's website;

����
(4)
�
Develop a
written emergency safety plan for aiding educational workers who have
potentially harmful situations, including situations involving harassment,
occurring in their work areas; provided that the department shall give
consideration to suggestions provided by educational workers in developing the
emergency safety plan;

����
(5)
�
Assist
educational workers with any legal actions that may arise from harassment,
including covering the costs incurred from serving temporary restraining orders
related to the harassment; and

����
(6)
�
Implement
annual training for all educational workers on how to use de-escalation
techniques and handle harassment from outside actors.

����
(e)
�
For the purposes of this section,
"educational worker" means any administrator, specialist, counselor,
teacher, or employee of the department; a person who is a volunteer, as defined
in section 90-1, in a school program, activity, or function that is
established, sanctioned, or approved by the department; or a person hired by
the department on a contractual basis and engaged in carrying out a department
function.
"

����
SECTION 3.
�
Chapter 302D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as
follows:

����
"
�302D-
�
Educational
workers; protection and workplace safety; harassment; reporting; training.
�
(a)
�
An educational worker shall not be required
to work under conditions or perform tasks when the educational worker is being
subjected to harassment.

����
(b)
�
When any educational worker believes that the
educational worker is being subjected to harassment, the educational worker may
inform the educational worker's immediate supervisor, who shall take
appropriate action using the procedures established pursuant to subsection
(d)(3).

����
(c)
�
An educational worker who seeks judicial
protection from harassment, including obtaining a temporary restraining order,
shall be entitled to a leave of absence with pay to attend court proceedings
related to the protection. The duration of the leave of absence with pay shall
be reasonable and sufficient to allow the educational worker to fulfill their
court-related obligations.

����
(d)
�
A public charter school shall:

����
(1)
�
Conduct a
formal investigation of all incidents of harassment submitted to the public
charter school by an educational worker pursuant to subsection (b);

����
(2)
�
Report to the
proper law enforcement authority within forty-eight hours all incidents of
harassment submitted to the public charter school by an educational worker
pursuant to subsection (b), where the incident of harassment involves a
potential threat of physical harm to the educational worker or another person;

����
(3)
�
Implement
procedures for the handling of harassment of educational workers, including
educational workers excluded from collective bargaining under chapter 89;
provided that:

���������
(A)
�
The
procedures shall be provided to all employees of a public charter school
annually; and

���������
(B)
�
The
procedures shall be posted on the public charter school's website;

����
(4)
�
Develop a
written emergency safety plan for aiding educational workers who have
potentially harmful situations, including situations involving harassment,
occurring in their work areas; provided that the public charter school shall
give consideration to suggestions provided by educational workers in developing
the emergency safety plan;

����
(5)
�
Assist
educational workers with any legal actions that may arise from harassment,
including covering the costs incurred from serving temporary restraining orders
related to the harassment; and

����
(6)
�
Implement
annual training for all educational workers on how to use de-escalation
techniques and handle harassment from outside actors.

����
(e)
�
For the purposes of this section,
"educational worker" means any administrator, specialist, counselor,
teacher, or employee of a public charter school; a person who is a volunteer,
as defined in section 90-1, in a school program, activity, or function that is
established, sanctioned, or approved by a public charter school; or a person
hired by a public charter school on a contractual basis and engaged in carrying
out a public charter school function.
"

����
SECTION 4.
�
New statutory material is underscored.

����
SECTION 5.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Department
of Education; Public Charter Schools; Educational Workers; Protection and
Workplace Safety; Harassment

Description:

Requires
the Department of Education and public charter schools to take certain steps to
report incidents of harassment and implement procedures for handling harassment
of educational workers.

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