HI HB2172

Establishes a five-year critical skills retention pilot program within the Department of Education to rehire retired teachers and educational officers for hard-to-staff positions without loss of retirement benefits.

Limits retiree hiring to positions eligible for hard-to-staff location differentials, special education differentials, Hawaiian language immersion differentials, or positions with $3,000+ annual differentials.

Requires the superintendent to certify in writing that good-faith recruitment efforts failed to identify qualified non-retirant applicants before hiring any retiree.

Mandates the Department of Education contribute to the employees' retirement system's unfunded actuarial accrued liability for each rehired retiree, while retirees earn no additional service credit.

Excludes rehired retirees from enrollment in the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust fund, with employment limited to renewable one-year terms subject to ongoing certification requirements.