HB 318 Summary

• Establishes a Staggered School Start Times Task Force convened by the Superintendent of Education to study the implications of implementing staggered start times for grades kindergarten through twelve in Hawaii's public schools.

• Task Force must examine current and projected school bus service schedules, cost savings, impacts on student learning and achievement, and effects on students, teachers, and communities.

• Task Force membership includes school principals (elementary, middle, and high school), representatives from teacher unions (Hawaii State Teachers Association and Hawaii Government Employees Association), after-school program providers, and the Executive Director of Hawaiʻi P-20 Partnerships for Education.

• Requires the Task Force to submit findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the 2020 regular legislative session, including research from other jurisdictions, fiscal impacts, legal impediments, and implementation timelines.

• Appropriates unspecified general revenues for fiscal year 2019-2020 to support the Task Force; task force terminates June 30, 2020, and act takes effect July 1, 2050.