HB683 • 2026

RELATING TO STUDENT TRANSPORTATION.

Budget Education Labor

Active

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

Sponsor: KAPELA, AMATO, GRANDINETTI, MARTEN, PERRUSO, SOUZA, TAKAYAMA, TAM, TARNAS
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not provide specific details on how the coordinators will improve bus services or what happens after the funding period ends.

Creating Student Transportation Coordinator Positions

This bill establishes four full-time student transportation coordinator positions within the Department of Education to strengthen school bus services across Hawaii.

What This Bill Does

Establishes and appropriates funds for four full-time equivalent (FTE) permanent student transportation coordinator positions in each county's Department of Education.
Allocates $400,000 from state general revenues for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 to fund these new positions.

Who It Names or Affects

The Department of Education
School districts across Hawaii

Terms To Know

FTE: Full-Time Equivalent, which is a way to measure the workload of an employee as if they were working full-time.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how these coordinators will improve bus services.
It's unclear what happens after the two-year funding period ends.

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 four full-time student transportation coordinator positions to improve school bus services across Hawaii, with each county getting one coordinator.

Appropriates funds from the state's general revenues for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 to create four full-time student transportation coordinator positions.

The exact amount of funding appropriated is not specified.
The amendment incorrectly sets the effective date as July 1, 3000, which seems unrealistic and likely needs correction.

HD2

Hawaii published version HD2

Plain English: This amendment establishes and funds positions for student transportation coordinators in each county to improve school bus services.

Appropriates money from the state's general revenues to hire full-time equivalent (FTE) permanent student transportation coordinator positions for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027.
Each county will have one dedicated student transportation coordinator.

The exact amount of funds appropriated is not specified in the amendment text.
The effective date listed (July 1, 3000) seems incorrect and likely contains an error.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-03-06 S
Referred to EDU, WAM.
2025-03-06 S
Passed First Reading.
2025-03-06 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 268).
2025-03-04 H
Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Pierick, Ward excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.
2025-02-28 H
Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 03-04-25.
2025-02-28 H
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1024) as amended in HD 2, recommending passage on Third Reading.
2025-02-20 H
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 14 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamashita, Takenouchi, Grandinetti, Holt, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lamosao, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Templo, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Alcos, Ward.
2025-02-18 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Thursday, 02-20-25 10:00AM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-02-13 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Kitagawa, Ward excused (3).
2025-02-13 H
Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 570) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
2025-02-11 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.
2025-02-07 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by EDN on Tuesday, 02-11-25 2:01PM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-21 H
Referred to EDN, FIN, referral sheet 2
2025-01-21 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-17 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO STUDENT TRANSPORTATION.
Student Transportation Coordinators; Department of Education; Appropriation ($)
Establishes and appropriates funds for student transportation coordinators positions within the Department of Education to strengthen student transportation services across the State. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB683

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

683

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to student transportation
.

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

����
SECTION
1.
�
The legislature finds that school bus
service provided by the department of education is essential for getting
students to and from school, particularly for students who lack other
transportation options or face hardship in obtaining school transportation
services due to economic difficulty.
�
However, chronic bus driver shortages have led
to the cancellation or consolidation of many school bus routes, reducing
transportation options for families across the State.

����
The
legislature additionally finds that at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school
year, the department of education reported that among six bus service
contractors statewide, an estimated eighty-seven additional drivers were needed
to fully staff school bus routes.
�
The
department also noted that over the last school year, one hundred seventy-five
school bus drivers have vacated their positions.

����
The
legislature further finds that in August 2024, the department of education
announced plans to temporarily suspend one hundred eight bus routes serving
middle and high school students in central Oahu and students of all grade
levels on the east side of the island of Hawaii.
�
The announcement marked the third year in a
row that the department has canceled bus services at the start of the school year.

����
The
legislature also finds that a lack of adequate school bus transportation
service exacerbates chronic absenteeism and undermines student achievement,
especially in rural, remote, and socioeconomically disadvantaged school
communities.

����
Accordingly,
the purpose of this Act is to establish and appropriate funds for student
transportation coordinators for each county to strengthen student
transportation services across the State.

����
SECTION
2.
�
There is appropriated out of the
general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $400,000 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 four full-time
equivalent (4.0 FTE) permanent student transportation coordinator positions to
strengthen student transportation services across the State; provided that each
county shall have one student transportation coordinator.

����
The sums

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

����
SECTION 3.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Student
Transportation Coordinators; Department of Education; Appropriation

Description:

Establishes
and appropriates funds for student transportation coordinators positions within
the Department of Education to strengthen student transportation services
across the State.

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