The Education committee voted to pass SB819 with amendments to establish an international teacher license for certain visa holders, after a lengthy hearing that included testimony from the Department of Education, the Hawaii Teachers Standards Board and school principals.

DOE witnesses, including Sean Bacon (assistant superintendent) and human-resources staff, said they strongly support the measure and described ongoing recruitment of international teachers to fill classroom vacancies. The DOE said J-1 teachers currently employed under emergency-hire permits can work in classrooms and many principals report positive experiences with J-1 teachers; the department said about 200 J-1 teachers were currently in classrooms and it had screened roughly 116 candidates in a recent recruiting trip.

The Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, represented by Chair Christie Miamae, opposed the bill on the record and urged caution. The board’s testimony stressed the board’s statutory role to maintain licensing standards and noted that U.S.-trained teachers who hold out-of-state licenses are generally subject to reciprocity standards; the board said international teachers have differing preparation and that some international candidates had difficulty passing basic skills exams required for licensure (reading, writing and math components). Board members emphasized that licensing standards protect students by ensuring content and pedagogical knowledge.

DOE and its recruiting staff described an existing evaluation process: international transcripts are evaluated via an independent credential evaluator (NACES) and principals make hiring decisions; education staff said J-1 teachers who obtain a full Hawaii license may stay longer (up to five years) while those on emergency permits may be limited to three years. Committee members asked for additional data and asked DOE to provide counts of EAs (educational assistants) with bachelor’s degrees, counts of J-1 hires, and details on recruitment sources and success rates.

The committee adopted amendments suggested by the Attorney General to clarify statutory language (for example replacing undefined terms and adding renewal conditions) and voted to pass SB819 with those amendments. The committee recorded five affirmative votes and adopted the recommendation.

Votes and outcome: SB819 passed the committee with amendments; the recommendation included the Attorney General’s suggested revisions and defected the effective date (committee record shows adoption with five members voting aye). The bill will proceed with the clarified statutory language.