HI SB864

Appropriates $400,000 per year for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 to create four full-time permanent student transportation coordinator positions within the Department of Education, with one coordinator assigned to each county

Addresses chronic school bus driver shortages that have led to route cancellations, with 87 additional drivers needed at the start of the 2024-2025 school year and 175 drivers having left their positions over the previous year

Responds to the suspension of 108 bus routes in August 2024 serving middle and high school students in central Oahu and students of all grade levels on the east side of Hawaii Island, marking the third consecutive year of start-of-school bus service cancellations

Aims to reduce chronic absenteeism and support student achievement, particularly in rural, remote, and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities lacking transportation options

Takes effect on July 1, 2025