Bill Text: HI SB2475 | 2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Education.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-1)
Status: (Passed) 2024-07-02 - Act 156, 07/01/2024 (Gov. Msg. No. 1257). [SB2475 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-SB2475-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2475 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
S.D. 2 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO EDUCATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION
1. The
legislature finds that Hawaii's prekindergarten through grade twelve schools
have increasingly served as safe havens for individuals who aim to exploit
their positions at schools to carry out acts that harm children, violating the
inherent trust in those positions.
Recent investigations and reports indicate that offenses including
sexual abuse, physical assault, and other forms of harassment have been
committed against students on various public and private school campuses
throughout the State. The school
personnel or volunteers involved in these offenses often seek to continue
harming children by taking advantage of the inability of educational
institutions to effectively share with each other information that may prevent
future employment in similar educational settings.
The
legislature further finds that based on real or perceived legal restrictions,
educational institutions fail to provide vital information to one another
regarding individuals who have committed various forms of harassment against students,
creating a revolving door for repeat offenders and perpetrators at these
schools.
The
legislature recognizes that it is essential to prevent the presence of these
individuals on any prekindergarten through grade twelve campus and from serving
in any capacity that requires interaction with or close proximity to
students. Therefore, preventive measures
are necessary to preserve the safety of both public and private school campuses
and bolster protections for students from harm.
Therefore,
the purpose of this Act is to:
(1) Establish
a registry for all prekindergarten through grade twelve educational
institutions within the State to report instances of acts that demonstrate harm
to students by school personnel or volunteers;
(2) Establish
qualified immunity for any employer that provides any good-faith information or
opinion on a current or former employee's employment performance; and
(3) Require
the surrender of teaching licenses of certain individuals who have resigned or
retired during a pending investigation into allegations of sexual assault or
sexual harassment.
SECTION 2. Section 302A-1002, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§302A-1002[]]
Reporting of crime-related incidents[.]; harm to students
registry; appeals. (a) There is established a harm to students registry, which
shall be made accessible to any institution within the State. The department shall compile a registry of
employees found to have inflicted harm to a student in the State. The registry shall contain:
(1) The full and legal name of the employee;
(2) The name of the reporting institution;
(3) Any significant dates including the date of each relevant
incident and the corresponding date of the institution's final finding as a
result of its investigation pursuant to subsection (b); and
(4) Any other information deemed necessary by the department.
Each institution shall share
information relating to any ongoing or concluded investigation of infliction of
harm to a student when requested by another institution. The information shared shall not include
personally identifiable information of any student.
Notwithstanding
any other law to the contrary, any information or employment documents related
to the registry obtained from non-governmental educational institutions shall
be exempt from disclosure under chapter 92F.
(b) Upon notification that an employee has
allegedly inflicted harm to a student, an institution shall complete an
investigation of the allegation. The institution shall register with the department via the registry
any final finding resulting from its investigation that an employee of the
institution engaged in acts or omissions that resulted in the infliction of
harm to a student, notwithstanding whether the employee was terminated,
retired, resigned, or prohibited from returning to the school, pending completion
of its investigation. Notwithstanding
the status of employment of the employee or future involvement with the school,
each institution shall complete the investigation.
(c) Each public school shall inquire with the
department to confirm whether a candidate for employment or prospective
volunteer at the school is listed on the registry. Each public school shall consult the registry
before authorizing a candidate's or volunteer's assistance at any school event
at the school that requires the candidate's or volunteer's interaction with, or
close proximity to, a student. If the
candidate's or volunteer's name is listed in the registry, the public school
shall cease to consider the candidate for employment and shall not authorize
the volunteer's assistance in a role that involves interaction with, or close
proximity to, a student.
(d) Any person whose name appears on the registry
may appeal to the office of the superintendent to remove the person's name from
the registry. Upon submission of the
appeal, the superintendent shall convene a temporary commission to determine
the potential removal of the person from the registry. The temporary commission shall consist of the
following members:
(1) The superintendent or the superintendent's designee;
(2) The executive director of the state public charter school commission
or the executive director's designee; and
(3) A representative of private schools located in the State, as
invited by the superintendent; provided that the right of first refusal shall
go to the executive director of the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools
or the executive director's designee.
The
commission shall serve as the final arbitrator of appeals authorized by this
section.
(e) The department may share information from the
registry with the department of human services.
(f) The board shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to:
(1) Require a report to appropriate authorities from a teacher, official, or other employee of the department who knows or has reason to believe that an act has been committed or will be committed, which:
(A) Occurred or will occur on school property during school hours or during activities supervised by the school; and
(B) Involves crimes relating to arson, assault, burglary, disorderly conduct, dangerous weapons, dangerous drugs, harmful drugs, extortion, firearms, gambling, harassment, intoxicating drugs, marijuana or marijuana concentrate, murder, attempted murder, sexual offenses, rendering a false alarm, criminal property damage, robbery, terroristic threatening, theft, or trespass;
(2) Establish procedures for disposing of
any incident reported; [and]
(3) Impose, in addition to any other powers
or authority the department may have to discipline school officials,
appropriate disciplinary action for failure to report these incidents, including
probation, suspension, demotion, and discharge of school officials[.];
and
(4) Require the compilation and maintenance of the registry established pursuant to subsection (a).
(g) As used in this section:
"Employee"
means any employee, contractor, or volunteer of any institution.
"Final
finding" means the conclusion of an institution's investigation that
results in a determination by the institution.
"Inflicted
harm to a student" or "infliction of harm to a student" means a
student has been subjected to sexual contact or conduct, including any form of
sexual assault as defined under chapter 707, part V; molestation; sexual
fondling; incest; or prostitution; obscene or pornographic photographing,
filming, or depiction; or any similar form of sexual exploitation, including any
act that constitutes an offense pursuant to section 712‑1202(1)(b).
"Institution"
means any educational institution that serves any combination of students from
grades prekindergarten through grade twelve within the State.
"Investigation"
means any fact finding by an institution related to an individual's potential
infliction of harm to a student and includes, at minimum:
(1) An investigator who is not a party
or witness in the investigation and does not report to a complaining party or
accused party;
(2) An opportunity for the complaining
party and accused party to provide information to the investigator regarding
the alleged misconduct or other circumstances that caused initiation of the
investigation;
(3) Representation for an accused
bargaining unit employee as required by law and the applicable collective
bargaining agreement;
(4) Consideration of the information
provided by all parties and witnesses who participated in the investigation;
and
(5) Reasoned findings based on the
information gathered that support the conclusion, by at least a preponderance
of the evidence, that the individual inflicted harm to a student.
"Registry"
means the harm to students registry established in this section."
SECTION 3. Section 302A-1003, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§302A-1003[]]
Indemnity upon reporting. (a) The State shall indemnify and hold harmless
anyone participating in good faith in making a report pursuant to section
302A-1002 from any civil liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed
by, or as a result of, the making of the report.
(b) An employer that provides to a prospective
employer information or opinion about a current or former employee's employment
performance is presumed to be acting in good faith and shall have qualified
immunity from civil liability for disclosing the information and for the
consequences of the disclosure.
(c) The good faith presumption under subsection
(b) shall be rebuttable upon a showing by a preponderance of the evidence that
the information or opinion disclosed was:
(1) Knowingly false; or
(2) Knowingly misleading.
(d) Nothing in this section shall affect the rights, obligations, remedies, liabilities, or standards of proof under chapters 89, 92F, 368, and 378."
PART
II
SECTION 4. Chapter 302C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§302C- Investigation of misconduct; reporting to
department of education; harm to students registry. (a)
Upon notification that an employee has allegedly inflicted harm to a
student, a private school shall complete an investigation of the allegation.
(b) Pursuant to section 302A-1002, the private
school shall report to the department of education via the registry any final
finding resulting from a private school's investigation that an employee or
volunteer of the school engaged in acts or omissions that resulted in the
infliction of harm to a student, notwithstanding whether the employee or
volunteer was terminated, retired, resigned, or prohibited from returning to the school, pending
completion of the investigation.
Notwithstanding the employment status or future involvement of the
employee or volunteer with the school, each private school shall complete the
investigation.
(c) Each private school shall inquire with the
department of education to confirm whether a candidate for employment or
prospective volunteer at the school is listed on the registry. Each private school shall consult the
registry before authorizing a candidate's or volunteer's assistance at any
school event at the school that requires the candidate's or volunteer's
interaction with, or close proximity to, a student. If the candidate's or volunteer's name is
listed in the registry, the private school shall cease to consider the
candidate for employment and shall not authorize the volunteer's assistance in
a role that involves interaction with, or close proximity to, a student.
(d) Each private school shall share information
relating to any ongoing or concluded investigation of infliction of harm to a
student when requested by another institution.
(e) For purposes of this section,
"employee", "final finding", "inflicted harm to a
student", "infliction of harm to a student",
"institution", "investigation", and "registry"
shall have the same meanings as defined in section 302A-1002."
SECTION 5. Chapter 302D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§302D- Investigation of
misconduct; reporting to department; harm to students registry. (a)
Upon notification that an employee has allegedly inflicted harm to a
student, a charter school shall complete an investigation of the allegation.
(b) Pursuant to section 302A-1002, the executive
director shall report to the department via the registry any final finding
resulting from a charter school's investigation that an employee or volunteer
of the school engaged in acts or omissions that resulted in the infliction of
harm to a student, notwithstanding whether the employee or volunteer was
terminated, retired, resigned, or prohibited from returning to
the school, pending completion of the investigation. Notwithstanding the employment status or
future involvement of the individual with the school, each charter school shall
complete the investigation.
(c) Each charter school shall inquire with the
department to confirm whether a candidate for employment or prospective
volunteer at the school is listed on the registry. Each charter school shall consult the
registry before authorizing a candidate's or volunteer's assistance at any
event at the school that requires the candidate's or volunteer's interaction
with, or close proximity to, a student.
If the candidate's or volunteer's name is listed in the registry, the
charter school shall cease to consider the candidate for employment and shall
not authorize the volunteer's assistance in a role that involves interaction
with, or close proximity to, a student.
(d) Each charter school shall share information
relating to any ongoing or concluded investigation of infliction of harm to a
student when requested by another institution.
(e) For purposes of this section, "employee", "final finding", "inflicted harm to a student" or "infliction of harm to a student", "institution", "investigation", and "registry" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 302A-1002."
SECTION 6. Chapter 302L, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§302L- Investigation of misconduct; reporting to department of education; harm to students registry. (a) Upon notification that an employee has allegedly inflicted harm to a student, an early learning program shall complete an investigation of the allegation.
(b) Pursuant to section 302A-1002, the early
learning program shall report to the department of education via the registry
any final finding resulting from an early learning program's investigation that
an employee or volunteer of the program engaged in acts or omissions that
resulted in the infliction of harm to a student, notwithstanding whether the
employee or volunteer was terminated, retired, resigned, or prohibited from returning to the program, pending
completion of the investigation.
Notwithstanding the employment status or future involvement of the
employee or volunteer with the program, each early learning program shall
complete the investigation.
(c) Each early learning program shall inquire
with the department of education to confirm whether a candidate for employment
or prospective volunteer at the program is listed on the registry. Each early learning program shall consult the
registry before authorizing a candidate's or volunteer's assistance at any
school event at the program that requires the candidate's or volunteer's
interaction with, or close proximity to, a student. If the candidate's or volunteer's name is
listed in the registry, the early learning program shall cease to consider the
candidate for employment and shall not authorize the volunteer's assistance in
a role that involves interaction with, or close proximity to, a student.
(d) Each early learning program shall share
information relating to any ongoing or concluded investigation of infliction of
harm to a student when requested by another institution.
(e) For purposes of this section,
"employee", "final finding", "inflicted harm to a
student", "infliction of harm to a student",
"institution", "investigation", and "registry"
shall have the same meanings as defined in section 302A-1002."
SECTION 7. Section 302A-602, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§302A-602
Teachers; licenses and certificates.
(a) No person shall serve as a
teacher in the department without first having obtained a license from the
Hawaii teacher standards board in [such] a form as the Hawaii
teacher standards board determines. The
department shall establish types of certificates in the educational field and
the requirements to qualify for those certificates issued to individuals who
are not required to obtain a license pursuant to sections 302A-801 to 302A-808.
(b) Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, no
person paid under the salary schedule contained in the unit 5 collective
bargaining agreement shall serve as a teacher in the department without first
having obtained a license pursuant to sections 302A-801 to 302A-808 from the
Hawaii teacher standards board in [such] a form as the Hawaii
teacher standards board determines.
(c) Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, the
department may employ unlicensed individuals as emergency hires pursuant to
sections 302A-801 to 302A-808. The
Hawaii Association of Independent Schools may, on a voluntary basis,
collaborate with the department of education by reporting to the department the
names of all individuals who were previously employed at a private school in
the State and meet the criteria for placement on the list of individuals
disqualified from employment with the department pursuant to section
302A-1002(a).
(d) The department shall inform in writing and obtain a signature from any individual paid under the salary schedule contained in the collective bargaining unit (5) collective bargaining agreement who retires or resigns before the completion of any investigation into allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment, or other physical abuse of a student, including criminal and workplace investigations. The individual shall surrender the individual's Hawaii teaching license. The department shall immediately inform and provide the department's complaints, any relevant information, and investigative reports relating to the individual to the Hawaii teacher standards board, which shall report the surrender to the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification.
(e)
For the purposes of this section, "investigation" shall have
the same meaning as "investigation" in section 302A‑1002."
PART III
SECTION 8. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
Report Title:
DOE; State Public Charter School Commission; HTSB; Executive Office on Early Learning; Private Schools; Harm to Students Registry; Employees; License Revocation; Appeal; Qualified Immunity
Description:
Establishes a harm to students registry for all prekindergarten through grade 12 institutions operating in the State to be administered by the Department of Education. Establishes certain exceptions for information shared on the registry. Requires schools to complete any investigation into employees who have pending allegations of harming students, regardless of employment status. Requires schools to consult with the registry before authorizing prospective employees or volunteers to interact with students. Requires schools to share information on ongoing or concluded investigations of infliction of harm to a student when requested by another institution. Establishes an appeal process for individuals who request removal from the Harm to Students Registry. Establishes qualified immunity for employers who provide good faith information or opinions on any current or former employee's employment performance. Requires the surrender of teaching licenses of certain individuals who have resigned or retired during a pending investigation into allegations of sexual assault or sexual harassment. Requires the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board to report surrendered licenses to the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification. (SD2)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
