Bill Commons

HI SB 2125

enacted

RELATING TO TEACHER LICENSING.

Hawaii · 2026 Regular Session · upper

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Quick answers

Did HI SB 2125 pass?

Yes. HI SB 2125 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-05-26): Act 030, 05/22/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1130).

What is HI SB 2125 about?

Allows the Department of Education and charter schools to hire unlicensed individuals as teachers on an emergency basis for five, rather than three, years. Requires that unlicensed teachers hired on an emergency basis make continuous and verifiable progress toward satisfying licensing requirements. Sunsets on 6/30/2031, but provides that unlicensed emergency hires employed before the sunset date may continue employment for up to five years from their hiring date, under certain conditions. (CD1)

Who sponsors HI SB 2125?

DECOITE, HASHIMOTO are the primary sponsors of HI SB 2125, joined by 1 cosponsor.

Description

Allows the Department of Education and charter schools to hire unlicensed individuals as teachers on an emergency basis for five, rather than three, years. Requires that unlicensed teachers hired on an emergency basis make continuous and verifiable progress toward satisfying licensing requirements. Sunsets on 6/30/2031, but provides that unlicensed emergency hires employed before the sunset date may continue employment for up to five years from their hiring date, under certain conditions. (CD1)

Introduced
2026-01-21
Latest action
2026-05-26 — Act 030, 05/22/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1130).
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Subjects

Sponsors

  • DECOITEprimary
  • HASHIMOTOprimary
  • Wakaicosponsor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-05-26

    Act 030, 05/22/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1130).

    became-law

  2. 2026-05-26

    Act 030, on 05/22/2026 (Gov. Msg. No. 1130).

    became-law

  3. 2026-05-08

    Received notice of passage on Final Reading in House (Hse. Com. No. 888).

    receipt

  4. 2026-05-08

    Enrolled to Governor.

    executive-receipt

  5. 2026-05-06

    Passed Final Reading, as amended (CD 1). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . 0 No(es): none. 0 Excused: none.

    passage

  6. 2026-05-06

    Passed Final Reading as amended in CD 1 with Representative(s) Garcia, Reyes Oda voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Belatti, Garrett, Iwamoto, Perruso voting no (4) and Representative(s) Alcos excused (1).

    passage

  7. 2026-05-06

    Received notice of Final Reading (Sen. Com. No. 816).

    receipt

  8. 2026-05-01

    Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 05-01-26 4:00PM in conference room 229.

  9. 2026-05-01

    The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes of the Senate Conference Managers were as follows: 2 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Hashimoto; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) DeCorte.

    committee-passage-favorable

  10. 2026-05-01

    The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, Lee, M., La Chica, Olds, Muraoka; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Sayama.

    committee-passage-favorable

  11. 2026-05-01

    Reported from Conference Committee as amended CD 1 (Conf. Com. Rep. No. 208-26).

  12. 2026-05-01

    48 Hrs. Notice (as amended CD 1) 05-06-26.

  13. 2026-05-01

    Reported from Conference Committee (Conf Com. Rep. No. 208-26) as amended in (CD 1).

  14. 2026-05-01

    Forty-eight (48) hours notice Wednesday, 05-06-26.

  15. 2026-04-30

    Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 05-01-26 1:30PM in conference room 229.

  16. 2026-04-29

    Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-30-26 1:34PM; Conference Room 229.

  17. 2026-04-29

    Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 874).

    receipt

  18. 2026-04-28

    House Conferees Appointed: Woodson, Sayama, Lee, M. Co-Chairs; La Chica, Olds, Muraoka.

  19. 2026-04-20

    Senate Conferees Appointed: Kim Chair; Hashimoto, DeCorte.

  20. 2026-04-20

    Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 714).

    receipt

  21. 2026-04-16

    Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 627).

    introduction,receipt

  22. 2026-04-16

    Senate disagrees with House amendments.

    amendment-failure

  23. 2026-04-16

    Received notice of disagreement (Sen. Com. No. 710).

    receipt

  24. 2026-04-14

    Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Garcia, Matsumoto, Poepoe voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Alcos, Garrett, Iwamoto, Muraoka, Perruso voting no (5) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1). Transmitted to Senate.

    passage

  25. 2026-04-10

    Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2107-26) as amended in HD 2, recommending passage on Third Reading.

  26. 2026-04-10

    Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 04-14-26.

  27. 2026-04-08

    The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Templo, Yamashita, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Perruso, Alcos; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Hussey.

    committee-passage-favorable

  28. 2026-04-07

    The committee(s) on FIN recommend(s) that the measure be deferred until 04-08-26.

    deferral

  29. 2026-04-07

    Bill scheduled for decision making on Wednesday, 04-08-26 1:57PM in conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  30. 2026-04-02

    Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Tuesday, 04-07-26 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  31. 2026-03-30

    Reported from LAB (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1463-26), recommending referral to FIN.

  32. 2026-03-30

    Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) Garcia voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Lowen, Perruso, Quinlan excused (4).

    passage,referral-committee

  33. 2026-03-24

    The committee on LAB recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Sayama, Lee, M., Garrett, Kapela, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Kong; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

    committee-passage-favorable

  34. 2026-03-20

    Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1289-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to LAB.

  35. 2026-03-20

    Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on LAB with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1).

    reading-2,referral-committee

  36. 2026-03-20

    Bill scheduled to be heard by LAB on Tuesday, 03-24-26 9:30AM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  37. 2026-03-19

    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, Kapela, Kila, Olds, Souza; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Muraoka; Noes: none; and Excused: none.

    committee-passage-favorable

  38. 2026-03-17

    Bill scheduled to be heard by EDN on Thursday, 03-19-26 2:00PM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.

  39. 2026-03-10

    Referred to EDN, LAB, FIN, referral sheet 15

    referral-committee

  40. 2026-03-05

    Pass First Reading

    reading-1

  41. 2026-02-25

    Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 1). Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 1 (Senator(s) Kidani). Transmitted to House.

    passage

  42. 2026-02-25

    Received from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 15) in amended form (SD 1).

    introduction,receipt

  43. 2026-02-23

    Reported from EDU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 2705) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and placement on the calendar for Third Reading.

  44. 2026-02-23

    Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1).

    passage,reading-2,referral-committee

  45. 2026-02-23

    48 Hrs. Notice 02-25-26.

  46. 2026-02-05

    Re-Referred to EDU.

    referral-committee

  47. 2026-02-04

    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.

    committee-passage-favorable

  48. 2026-01-30

    The committee(s) on EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 02-04-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

  49. 2026-01-22

    Referred to EDU, WAM.

    referral-committee

  50. 2026-01-21

    Introduced and passed First Reading.

    introduction,reading-1

  51. 2026-01-14

    Pending Introduction.

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.

    2026-02-04 · pass · 4-0

    Member-level votes (5)
    • Kim: yes
    • Kidani: yes
    • Hashimoto: yes
    • DeCorte: yes
    • Fukunaga: not voting

  • Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 1).

    2026-02-25 · pass · 24-0

    Member-level votes (1)
    • Senator(s: not voting

  • The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.

    2026-03-19 · pass · 10-0

    Member-level votes (10)
    • Woodson: yes
    • La Chica: yes
    • Amato: yes
    • Evslin: yes
    • Garrett: yes
    • Kapela: yes
    • Kila: yes
    • Olds: yes
    • Souza: yes
    • Muraoka: yes

  • The committee on LAB recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED.

    2026-03-24 · pass · 6-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Sayama: yes
    • Lee: yes
    • M: yes
    • Garrett: yes
    • Kapela: yes
    • Reyes Oda: yes
    • Kong: yes

  • The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.

    2026-04-08 · pass · 15-0

    Member-level votes (17)
    • Todd: yes
    • Takenouchi: yes
    • Hartsfield: yes
    • Keohokapu-Lee Loy: yes
    • Kitagawa: yes
    • Kusch: yes
    • Lee: yes
    • M: yes
    • Miyake: yes
    • Morikawa: yes
    • Templo: yes
    • Yamashita: yes
    • Gedeon: yes
    • Reyes Oda: yes
    • Perruso: yes
    • Alcos: yes
    • Hussey: not voting

  • The Conference committee recommends that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS.

    2026-05-01 · pass · 2-0

    Member-level votes (3)
    • Kim: yes
    • Hashimoto: yes
    • DeCorte: not voting

  • The Conference Committee recommends that the measure be Passed, with Amendments.

    2026-05-01 · pass · 5-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Woodson: yes
    • Lee: yes
    • M: yes
    • La Chica: yes
    • Olds: yes
    • Muraoka: yes
    • Sayama: not voting

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=2125&year=2026

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T05:20:09.051962Z

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