RELATING TO EDUCATION.

SB3193

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

3193

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

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 home schooling is
a valid and beneficial educational option that offers flexibility,
individualized instruction, and strong family engagement.
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In Hawaii, there are over five thousand
students that are being educated through home schooling.

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The legislature recognizes that the
department of education has a responsibility to ensure the educational
well-being of all school-age children.
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To fulfill this responsibility, the department of education must be able
to monitor student progress in a manner that respects parental choice while
allowing for the early identification of developmental delays, learning
differences, or other educational needs that may benefit from additional
evaluation, resources, or supportive services offered by the department.

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Accordingly, the purpose of this Act
is to require annual in-person participation in certain tests by home schooled
students to support student success and ensure access to appropriate
educational support when needed.
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The
legislature believes that the tests that should be required include the statewide
testing program, including English language arts and math testing through the
Smarter Balanced Assessment, given in the third grade through eighth grade and
eleventh grade.
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Alternatively, a student
learning in Hawaiian may take the alternative for Hawaiian immersion students
through the Kaiapuni Assessment of Educational outcomes, also known as K
Ā
ʻ
EO.
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For those entering kindergarten, the test that would apply is the kindergarten
entry assessment.
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For students in the
first grade and second grade, they are given universal screenings three times
during the school year, with the first universal screening to be required.

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SECTION
2
.
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Section
302A-1132, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to
read as follows:

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"(a)
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Unless excluded from school or excepted from
attendance, all children who will have arrived at the age of at least five
years on or before July 31 of the school year, and who will not have arrived at
the age of eighteen years, by January 1 of any school year, shall attend
either a public or private school for, and during, the school year, and any
parent, guardian, or other person having the responsibility for, or care of, a
child whose attendance at school is obligatory shall send the child to either a
public or private school.
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Attendance at
a public or private school shall not be compulsory in the following cases:

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(1)
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Where the child is
physically or mentally unable to attend school (deafness and blindness
excepted), of which fact the certificate of a duly licensed physician shall be
sufficient evidence;

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(2)
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Where the child,
who has reached the fifteenth anniversary of birth, is suitably employed and
has been excused from school attendance by the superintendent or the
superintendent's authorized representative, or by a family court judge;

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(3)
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Where, upon
investigation by the family court, it has been shown that for any other reason
the child may properly remain away from school;

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(4)
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Where the child
has graduated from high school;

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(5)
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Where the child is
enrolled in an appropriate alternative educational program as approved by the
superintendent or the superintendent's authorized representative in accordance
with the plans and policies of the department, or notification of intent to
home school has been submitted to the principal of the public school that the
child would otherwise be required to attend in accordance with department rules
adopted to achieve this result[
; or
]
; provided that beginning with
the 2027-2028 school year, a home schooled child shall participate in person in:

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(A)
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The
kindergarten entry assessment;

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(B)
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Universal
screening upon beginning the first grade and second grade; or

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(C)
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The
statewide testing program for English language arts and math or the Hawaiian
immersion alternative for the years the appropriate program is offered,

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at the public school that
the child would otherwise be required to attend once a year; or

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(6)
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Where:

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(A)
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The child has
attained the age of sixteen years;

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(B)
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The principal has
determined that:

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(i)
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The child has
engaged in behavior which is disruptive to other students, teachers, or staff;
or

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(ii)
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The child's
non-attendance is chronic and has become a significant factor that hinders the
child's learning; and

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(C)
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The principal of
the child's school, and the child's teacher or counselor, in consultation with
the child and the child's parent, guardian, or other adult having legal
responsibility for or care of the child, develops an alternative educational
plan for the child.
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The alternative
educational plan shall include a process that shall permit the child to resume
school.

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The principal of the child's
school shall file the plan made pursuant to subparagraph (C) with the child's
school record.
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If the adult having legal
responsibility for or care of the child disagrees with the plan, then the adult
shall be responsible for obtaining appropriate educational services for the
child."

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SECTION 3.
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Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory
material is underscored.

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SECTION 4.
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This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Home
Schooling; Students; Testing

Description:

Requires home
schooled students to participate in certain annual in person tests at the
public school that the student would otherwise be required to attend.

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