Hawaii

Hawaii law does not place any caps on charter school growth.

Hawaii law allows new start-ups and public school conversions.

Hawaii law creates a state public charter school commission that has statewide authorizing authority. In addition, the law allows accredited public and private postsecondary institutions, county and state agencies, and nonprofits to apply to the state board of education to become an authorizer.

Hawaii law requires the state board of education to provide oversight for all authorizers in the state, with such authorizers (except the state public charter school commission) needing to submit an application to become an authorizer (and if approved receiving an initial six-year authorizing contract). All authorizers must submit annual reports to the state board of education, which in turn must review and determine if the provisions of the authorizing contract are being met. In evaluating the performance of authorizers, the state board of education must apply nationally recognized principles and standards for quality authorizing. Statute provides for a process of non-renewal or revocation of the authorizing contract as needed.The state board of education must submit an annual report on the overall charter school program to the governor, the legislature, and the public.

The law provides that the state public charter school commission shall operate with dedicated resources and staff qualified to execute the day-to-day responsibilities of the commission pursuant to this chapter. The law states that the legislature shall make an appropriation to the commission separate from, and in addition to, any appropriation made to charter. The law also allows the commission to assess fees on non-state entities and individuals to help offset its operating costs. However, statute is silent on any financial support for other potential authorizers. Statute provides clear requirements to publicly report authorizer expenditures, to have separate contracts for any purchased services, and to prohibit authorizers from requiring any specific services purchases from them.

Hawaii law provides application elements for all schools and additional application elements specific to conversion schools and requires a thorough evaluation of each application including an in-person interview and a public meeting.
As part of a state agency, the state public charter school commission is subject to the state sunshine law, which requires all official business be conducted in a public meeting. The law requires authorizers to state reasons for denials in writing.

Hawaii’s law clearly states that the charter is a separate document signed by the governing board and the authorizer that defines the responsibilities of both parties. The law also requires the contract contain a detailed performance framework including every item specifically mentioned in the model law.
The law is silent on the length of the initial charter contract, although it notes that charters can be renewed for additional terms up to five years each time.

Hawaii law requires the following model law items within its law:
* The collection and analysis of student outcome data at least annually by authorizers (consistent with the performance framework outlined in the contract).
* Financial accountability for charter schools (e.g., Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, independent annual audit reported to authorizer).
* Authorizer authority to conduct or require oversight activities.
* Authorizer notification to their schools of perceived problems, with opportunities to remedy such problems.
* Authorizer authority to take appropriate corrective actions or exercise sanctions short of revocation.

Hawaii law requires that authorizers must issue a performance report and charter contract renewal application guidance to any school whose contract is in its final contract year which must include the school’s performance record to date and any weaknesses or concerns that may jeopardize its position in seeking renewal. The law requires charter boards to submit any corrections or clarifications for the report. It also requires them to submit their renewal applications by no later than 30 days after the performance report is issued. The law states clear criteria for renewal and nonrenewal as grounded in the performance framework detailed in the contract. It states that contracts may be renewed for successive five-year terms, although it allows authorizers to vary the terms based on the particular circumstances of the school.
The law allows authorizers to revoke the charter for failure to meet the state student performance standards, fiscal irresponsibility, or serious student or employee health or safety deficiencies. The law requires authorizers to develop revocation and non-renewal processes that provide timely notification and time for reasonable responses. It requires that decisions be made in a public hearing with authorizers stating reasons for non-renewals and revocations in writing. The law requires authorizers to report such actions to the state board of education along with assurances of law compliance.
The law requires authorizers to develop a charter school closure protocol to ensure timely parent notification, orderly student and record transitions, and property and asset disposition.
The law prohibits transfer of charter contracts to another authorizer unless the state board of education approves the transfer.

Hawaii law includes a small number of the model law’s provisions for educational service providers. The law recognizes a non-profit organization that has been approved by an authorizer to operate and manage a conversion charter school’s governing. However, the law is silent on for-profit organizations.
The law requires the charter application to detail a governance structure that incorporates a conflict of interest policy, but does not require that existing and potential conflicts of interest between the two entities be disclosed and explained in the charter application. The law also provides that no person may serve on the governing board of a charter school if the person is an employee or former employee of any vendor or contractor providing goods or services to any charter school under the jurisdiction of that governing board unless the person is a vendor or contractor and at least one year has passed since the conclusion of the vendor or contractor’s service to a charter school under the jurisdiction of that governing board or the person’s serving on the governing board shall not cause more than one-third of the voting members of the governing board to be made up of vendors or contractors who are providing goods or services to any charter school that is under the jurisdiction of that governing board. The law also provides that no vendor or contractor providing goods or services to a charter school may serve as the chair of the governing board of that charter school unless at least one year has elapsed since the conclusion of the vendor’s or contractor’s service to the school, provided that an authorizer may grant an exemption from this requirement.
The law requires that anyone working in close proximity to children in a charter school must be fingerprinted.

Hawaii law provides that each charter school's local school board is to be an independent governing body of its charter school and is responsible for the financial, organizational, and academic viability of the charter school and the implementation of the charter and is the independent authority that determines the organization and management of the school, the curriculum, virtual education, and compliance with applicable federal and state laws.

Hawaii law requires start-up charter schools (but not conversion charter schools) to provide open enrollment to any student residing in the state who is entitled to attend a department school.
The law provides that charter schools are not exempt from the state’s discriminatory practices statutes.
The law allows start-up charter schools to give enrollment preferences for prior year students within chartered schools and siblings of enrolled students enrolled at a charter school.
The law requires conversion charter schools to enroll any student who resides within the school’s former geographic service area for the grades that were in place when the public school converted to a charter school. It also requires conversion charter schools to be subject to the enrollment requirements for start-up charter schools for grades that were not in place when the school converted to a public charter school.
Hawaii law provides that a student who is currently enrolled in a charter school that has been notified of the prospect of revocation or is closing shall be given first priority to enroll at another charter school to which the student applies or placed at the top of the waitlist for enrollment.
Hawaii law provides that a start-up charter school may give enrollment preference through a weighted lottery to educationally disadvantaged students.
The law requires start-up charter schools (but not conversion charter schools) to select students through a public lottery if capacity is insufficient to enroll all students who have submitted a timely application.

Hawaii law provides that charter schools are exempt from all state rules and statutes applicable to traditional public schools or districts, except those applying to discriminatory practices and health and safety requirements. In addition, Hawaii law provides that the negotiated master agreements apply to charter school employees unless the exclusive union representatives and the local school board of a charter school enter into supplemental agreements that contain cost and non-cost items to facilitate decentralized decision-making.
Hawaii law does not exempt charter school teachers from state teacher certification requirements.

Hawaii state statute requires collective bargaining for all public school teachers, including public charter school teachers. It requires that collective bargaining address five topics: wages, insurance and fringe benefits, hours, terms and conditions of employment, and grievance procedures. Bargaining on the length of the school year is also permitted. No items are expressly excluded from bargaining. Hawaii law provides that the collective bargaining agreements for traditional public schools apply to charter school employees unless the exclusive union representatives and the local school board of a charter school enter into supplemental agreements that contain additional items to facilitate decentralized decision-making. In addition, any person with civil service status in a conversion charter school retains that status and all privileges and benefits as other civil servants.
Prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, Hawaii allowed unions to impose mandatory agency fees on non-members. The Supreme Court decision renders that state law unconstitutional. Since the decision, Hawaii has enacted a new law that requires employees who wish to opt out of dues to notify unions within 30 days of the anniversary of their first deduction.
Regarding unions’ standing as the exclusive representative of employees in a bargaining unit, Hawaii state statute requires that 50 percent of employees support the exclusive representative, as evidenced by names and signatures collected within a two-month period. The law provides for an election and a runoff election (if appropriate to resolve any dispute). Once certified, the organization remains an exclusive representative until or unless it is replaced, decertified, or dissolved. A new election cannot be held for 12 months.

Hawaii law allows multiple schools overseen by a single governing board, with all such schools still needing to report their own performance framework data.

Hawaii law grants charter school students the same opportunity as students at department schools to participate in sports activities whether it be provided at the charter school or a comparable program at a department school.

Hawaii law provides that the state department of education is responsible for the provision of a free appropriate public education and that any charter school is responsible for providing the educational and related services required by a student’s individualized education program (IEP). If the school cannot provide all of the required services, then the law requires the department to provide them as determined by the IEP. The law also requires the department to collaborate with the state public charter school commission to develop guidelines related to the provision of special education services and resources to each charter school and allows the department to offer staff, funding, or both to the school based on a per-pupil weighted formula used to allocate resources for special education students in all public schools. The law is clear that charter schools will not receive funding for special education services

Hawaii provides operational funds to its charter schools via a line item appropriation in the state budget, using a charter schools account as a separate account in the state treasury. The law notes that the non-facility general fund per-pupil funding is to be the same as that allocated for traditional public schools. It also directs the state director of finance to transfer additional general fund money to charter schools as needed. The law also provides that charter schools are eligible for all applicable federal funding.In a national study of charter school funding (University of Arkansas, Charter School Funding: Inequity Expands, 2014), Hawaii charter schools were receiving on average $8,986 per pupil in public funds, while traditional public schools would have received $13,601 for those students. As a result, the state's charter schools were receiving $4,615 per pupil – or 33.9% - less than what the traditional public schools would have received for those students. This figure includes all sources of funding, and analysis reveals some significant inequities for both operational and capital funding (see component #19 for information on capital issues).

The public charter school commission can request needs-based charter school facilities funding from the legislature as part of its annual budget request. Funding amounts are prioritized for allocation by the charter school facilities funding working group. This program is currently not funded by the legislature.Hawaii law requires the state department of education to identify unused public school facilities that may be appropriate for charter schools and solicit applications from charter schools interested in using and occupying all or portions of the facilities of the department school. If a charter school occupies or uses the facilities of a department school immediately prior to converting to a charter school, upon conversion that charter school must be given continued exclusive or joint use of the buildings or facilities unless the state demonstrates a tangible and imperative need to reclaim all of the facilities.
Hawaii law provides that when any department considers closure of any facility, it shall give "reasonable consideration" to making all or portions of the facility available to charter schools and early learning programs. Each department shall provide notice to the superintendent, state public charter school commission, and executive office on early learning, identifying suitable unused facilities that may be appropriate for public charter schools, early learning programs, including the pre-plus program and any other purpose the department of education deems appropriate. The department of accounting and general services shall biennially survey departments concerning unused facilities and inventory the suitable facilities, and, in determining suitability for educational re-use, priority shall be given to facilities on sites with sufficient space for three or more classrooms.

Hawaii law requires charter school employees to be members of the State Pension and Retirement System.

Hawaii law does not contain any of the model law’s provisions for full-time virtual charter schools.