Several state House bills offer new incentives to recruit and retain educators amid the teacher shortage in Hawaii.
At the start of the school year, the state Department of Education was short 736 teachers. Despite the DOE hiring 154 new educators for Hawaii County, the Big Island was still short 121 teachers.
“When teacher candidates are completing their degree to get licensure and certification, they have to do student teaching,” said Rep. Amy Perruso, a Democrat of Oahu who serves as chair of the House Committee on Higher Education and Technology. “Schools usually require that you don’t have another part-time job or any other employment while you’re doing student teaching, so you have to have some resources available, which excludes a large number of young people who would otherwise want to become teachers.”
To help, Perruso introduced House Bill 875, which would create a statewide teacher apprenticeship program offering mentorship, counseling and financial support to those completing their workforce training.
“We do a really inadequate job mentoring student teachers because we haven’t invested the resources,” she said. “Within five years, we lose 50% of our incoming teachers.”
The apprenticeship program would be open to those enrolled in a state-approved teacher education program at the University of Hawaii and would prioritize local residents and those who commit to teaching in the DOE for at least three years.
“This will enable us to create programs that support people from our rural and disenfranchised communities, and those already working in our schools that have shown they’re committed to our keiki,” Perruso said.
In addition to general fund appropriations, the program could receive federal vocational funding.
“Federal vocational funds are massive sources of monies that fund all kinds of vocational education,” Perruso said. “We only have to create the program. Once the program is there, the rest of the funding can come from those federal vocational funds.”
Another intention of the program is to limit the number of emergency hires.
This school year, the DOE reported having 400 emergency hires, and an undetermined number of long-term substitutes.
“In order to determine if an individual substitute was used to cover a vacancy for a period of time, it would require a work history review of each individual by name,” wrote the DOE’s Office of Talent Management in an email.
Incentives could also come from House Bill 1223, which would offer student loan forgiveness after five years of teaching in hard-to-fill positions, including those in rural areas, as well as roles like special education teachers.
“Teacher recruitment and retention is a significant issue for my district,” said Rep. Jeanne Kapela, a Democrat who co-introduced the bill and represents parts of Ka‘u and other East Hawaii rural communities. “Remote schools tend to enroll higher levels of economically disadvantaged students and also see higher rates of chronic absenteeism because of the lack of basic infrastructure in the communities that they serve. Not surprisingly, these schools need extra help to sustain student performance.”
Loan forgiveness would apply to residents and those who relocate to Hawaii.
“The annual cost to attend college at the University of Hawaii at Manoa can be as much as $30,000 a year, and on average, it takes full-time students nearly five-and-a-half years to graduate,” said Osa Tui Jr., president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, in written testimony. “This bill could reduce that struggle substantially by providing loan forgiveness for teachers committed to teaching in hard-to-fill positions.”
House Bill 1117 focuses on the cost of living and would authorize the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to assist the DOE in developing housing projects for teachers and school employees. The bill would also authorize the DOE to lease land and contract with private entities for the development, management and maintenance of housing.
“We recognize the need for more housing for teachers and want to support this effort. However, our programs and resources are subject to Fair Housing laws,” said Denise Iseri-Matsubara from the HHFDC in written testimony. “Development of teacher housing must be carefully planned and funded, as occupancy preferences or restrictions based on occupation, employment status, or residency may violate fair housing laws.”
All three have been referred to the House Committee on Finance for further review.
“Hawaii Island has many schools that exist in rural and remote communities, where teaching positions can be extremely hard to fill,” Kapela said. “These initiatives would help us ensure that all students are given instruction by qualified educators.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
