S.B. No. 250 Summary

• Prohibits the Department of Education from mandating that students attend school outside their service area, effective July 1, 2028

• Establishes a five-year phaseout period for sixth grade students mandated to out-of-service-area attendance, reducing the number by 20 percentage points annually starting in the 2024-2025 school year (80%, 60%, 40%, 20% of 2022-2023 baseline)

• Removes language allowing the Department of Education to mandate out-of-service-area attendance while preserving federal law mandates and geographic exceptions approved at departmental discretion

• Requires the Department of Education to submit annual progress reports to the legislature by January 11 of 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030, including statewide data on students mandated for out-of-service-area attendance by grade level

• Addresses school overcrowding in the Kapolei complex by redirecting students to schools in the Nanakuli complex to balance student distribution without requiring multi-track school schedules