HI HB89

Establishes a teacher housing assistance program administered by the department of education to provide housing vouchers to eligible full-time teachers employed by the department or public charter schools at hard-to-staff schools.

Housing vouchers may be used for rent, mortgage payments, or down payments on a primary residence, with a maximum monthly amount and one-year terms renewable for an additional year.

Eligible teachers must be full-time with at least one year of teaching experience, commit to teach at a hard-to-staff school for five consecutive years, reside in Hawaii, have household income below a specified percentage of area median income, and not own additional residential property.

Teachers who fail to meet the five-year work requirement must repay voucher funds as a loan, with repayment terms and potential forgiveness for hardship set by the department; repaid funds go to the teachers' housing revolving fund.

Appropriates funds from the teachers' housing revolving fund for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 to support the voucher program; effective date is July 1, 3000.