SCR196 • 2026

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEVELOP A PROPOSAL FOR A TIERED, COORDINATED, AND STANDARDIZED BELL SCHEDULE FRAMEWORK FOR DEPARTMENT SCHOOLS.

Education

Active

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

Sponsor: KIM, CHANG, GABBARD, HASHIMOTO, San Buenaventura, Wakai
Last action: 2026-04-27
Official status: Received notice of Adoption (Sen. Com. No. 781).
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEVELOP A PROPOSAL FOR A TIERED, COORDINATED, AND STANDARDIZED BELL SCHEDULE FRAMEWORK FOR DEPARTMENT SCHOOLS.

What This Bill Does

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEVELOP A PROPOSAL FOR A TIERED, COORDINATED, AND STANDARDIZED BELL SCHEDULE FRAMEWORK FOR DEPARTMENT SCHOOLS.
DOE; Common Bell Schedule; Department Schools; Instructional Minutes

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

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

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: SCR196 HD1 THE SENATE S.C.R.

SCR196 HD1 THE SENATE S.C.R.
NO.
196 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 S.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII H.D.

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: SCR196 SD1 THE SENATE S.C.R.

SCR196 SD1 THE SENATE S.C.R.
NO.
196 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 S.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Requesting the Department of Education to develop a proposal for a tiered, coordinated, AND STANDARdized BELL schedule framework for department schools .

Bill History

2026-04-27 H
Received notice of Adoption (Sen. Com. No. 781).
2026-04-27 S
Resolution adopted in final form.
2026-04-27 H
Received notice of reconsideration and Senate agreement (Sen. Com. No. 763).
2026-04-24 S
One Day Notice 04-27-26
2026-04-24 S
Senate agrees with House amendments. Placed on the calendar for Final Reading on 04-27-26.
2026-04-24 S
Reconsideration of action taken on 04-21-26 in disagreeing to the House amendments.
2026-04-24 H
Received notice of all Senate conferees being discharged (Sen. Com. No. 743).
2026-04-24 S
Senate Conferee(s) discharged.
2026-04-22 H
Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 722).
2026-04-22 S
Senate Conferees Appointed: Kim Chair; Kidani, DeCorte.
2026-04-21 H
Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 715).
2026-04-21 S
Senate disagrees with House amendments.
2026-04-21 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 798).
2026-04-20 H
Transmitted to Senate.
2026-04-20 H
Adopted as amended in HD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia, Muraoka, Reyes Oda voting no (3) and Representative(s) Alcos, Cochran, Woodson excused (3).
2026-04-20 H
Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2234-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending adoption.
2026-04-16 H
The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Garrett, Olds, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Kapela, Kila.
2026-04-14 H
Resolution scheduled to be heard by EDN on Thursday, 04-16-26 2:05PM in conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-04-10 H
Referred to EDN, referral sheet 28
2026-04-09 H
Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 507) in amended form (SD 1).
2026-04-09 S
Report and Resolution Adopted, as amended (SD 1). Transmitted to House.
2026-04-08 S
One Day Notice 04-09-26.
2026-04-08 S
Reported from EDU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3516) with recommendation of adoption, as amended (SD 1).
2026-04-06 S
The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDU were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Kidani, Hashimoto, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Fukunaga.
2026-04-02 S
The committee(s) on EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 04-06-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.
2026-03-19 S
Referred to EDU.
2026-03-16 S
Offered.

Official Summary Text

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEVELOP A PROPOSAL FOR A TIERED, COORDINATED, AND STANDARDIZED BELL SCHEDULE FRAMEWORK FOR DEPARTMENT SCHOOLS.
DOE; Common Bell Schedule; Department Schools; Instructional Minutes

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SCR196

THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

196

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

Requesting the Department of Education to develop a STANDARdized
BELL schedule framework for department schools
.

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WHEREAS, the
State has established minimum instructional hour requirements to ensure that
all public school students receive adequate and equitable educations; and

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WHEREAS, school
start and end times, however, vary widely across public schools and complex
areas, creating challenges for families with children at multiple grade levels,
complicating transportation planning, and limiting opportunities for
coordination with community programs, athletics, and extracurricular activities;
and

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WHEREAS, the
absence of standardized bell schedules also produces operational inefficiencies
for the Department of Education, particularly with respect to school bus
routing, staffing, professional development planning, and shared services
across schools or complex areas; and

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WHEREAS, establishing
a standardized bell schedule framework by school level while preserving local
flexibility within instructional hour requirements would promote greater
predictability, equity, and efficiency across the public education system; and

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WHEREAS, a
consistent scheduling structure may also support student well-being by aligning
instructional hours with age-appropriate learning needs and facilitating
collaboration among educators across schools and complex areas; now, therefore,

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BE IT
RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii,
Regular Session of 2026, the House of Representatives concurring, that the
Department of Education is requested to develop a standardized bell schedule
framework for department schools; and

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BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the standardized bell schedule framework is requested to:

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(1)
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Comply with all state and federal
instructional hours requirements; and

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(2)
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Be organized by school level, including:

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(A)
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Elementary
schools;

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(B)
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Middle or intermediate schools; and

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(C)
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High schools; and

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BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to consult with school
administrators, teachers, collective bargaining representatives, parents,
students, and transportation providers in the development of the standardized
bell schedule framework; and

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BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the
Superintendent of Education and Chairperson of the Board of Education.

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:
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DOE;
Common Bell Schedule; Department Schools; Instructional Minutes