Hawaii State Board of Education Packet Summary — 2026-08-13
Meeting: Special Meeting
Date: August 13, 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Public meeting location: Queen Liliʻuokalani Building, 1390 Miller Street, Room 404, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96813
The Hawaii State Board of Education is scheduled to consider Board leadership and committee assignments, proposed changes to its bylaws, a new superintendent evaluation framework, participation in a national special-education funding campaign, and formation of an investigative committee for two State Public Charter School Commission vacancies. The agenda also includes reports on student transportation, school safety, Board self-assessment, and other Board activities.
Key Items on the Agenda
Board Leadership and Committee Assignments
The Board is scheduled to elect its vice chairperson and appoint standing committee leadership and members for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The proposal would retain Bill Arakaki as Board Vice Chairperson and establish leadership and membership for the Student Achievement, Finance and Infrastructure, Human Resources, and Audit committees.
The proposed committee leadership is:
- Student Achievement Committee: Bill Arakaki, Chairperson; Kahele Dukelow, Vice Chairperson.
- Finance and Infrastructure Committee: Ken Kuraya, Chairperson; Elynne Chung, Vice Chairperson.
- Human Resources Committee: Elynne Chung, Chairperson; Wesley Lo, Vice Chairperson.
- Audit Committee: Mary Hattori, Chairperson; Elynne Chung, Vice Chairperson.
The agenda also includes the introduction of new Student Representative Micah Kalauli.
Proposed Board Meeting and Community Meeting Calendar
The packet presents the Board's meeting calendar for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Scheduled Board and committee meeting dates run from August 13, 2026, through June 10, 2027, although the schedule is subject to change and special meetings may also be scheduled.
Community meetings are proposed for:
- September 15, 2026 — Kauaʻi
- October 13, 14, and 15, 2026 — Hawaiʻi
- November 17, 2026 — Oʻahu
- November 19, 2026 — Maui
Policy and Governance Items
Significant Bylaw Amendments Proposed
The Board is scheduled to consider amendments to its bylaws. The Chairperson's memorandum describes the proposal as clarifying leadership roles, agenda-setting procedures, Board business processes, responsibilities involving the public library system, the Audit Committee's relationship with the Internal Audit Office, access to attorney general advice, and other governance provisions. The recommendation is to adopt the revised bylaws immediately and authorize technical, non-substantive changes for clarity and consistency.
Among the proposed changes:
- The Board Chairperson would have sole authority to set agendas for full Board meetings, while considering input and requests from committee chairpersons, Board members, the Superintendent, State Librarian, and members of the public.
- Standing Committee Chairpersons would similarly have sole authority to set their respective committee agendas, while considering specified input and requests.
- A new governance provision would state that the Board exercises its authority collectively at duly noticed meetings and that individual members do not independently exercise Board authority unless expressly delegated.
- Standing committee responsibilities would explicitly extend to the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System where applicable, and the Audit Committee's scope would include providing direction to the Internal Audit Office.
- The Executive Director would be authorized to seek certain informal or formal legal advice.
- The existing detailed bylaw language governing the vote needed to enter executive session would be replaced with a reference to applicable state statutes.
Written testimony from a Board member opposes taking a vote on the full package at this Special Meeting and recommends moving the item to the September 10, 2026 General Business Meeting for discussion. The testimony characterizes the proposal as containing numerous substantive governance changes and raises concerns about the amount of review time available before a two-thirds membership vote.
The Board Chairperson is presenting a proposed process for what the packet describes as the Board's first formal self-assessment. The process would be facilitated by the National Association of State Boards of Education and is intended as a collective governance-improvement exercise rather than an evaluation of individual Board members.
The assessment would examine four areas:
- Mission, priorities, and goals
- Agendas, meetings, and support
- Collegiality and collective voice
- Stakeholder engagement and public interaction
The proposed timeline calls for assessment development in August, a confidential Board survey in September, individual interviews in September and October, analysis and report preparation in November, and presentation of findings at the December General Business Meeting.
Superintendent Evaluation
New FY27 Evaluation Framework
An investigative committee is presenting recommendations for evaluating Superintendent Keith Hayashi for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The committee unanimously proposes a streamlined framework featuring a single end-of-year evaluation, professional standards tied to the Superintendent's duties, consideration of extenuating circumstances, and a defined rating scale and timeline. The committee's recommendations are being presented at this meeting for possible Board action at a subsequent meeting.
The five proposed professional standards are:
- Visionary Leadership & Organizational Culture
- Operations, Resource & Personnel Management
- Governance & Policy
- Communication & Community Relations
- Equity Advocacy
Evidence would include the Superintendent's written self-assessment, documentation and Board materials, and a stakeholder survey developed through consultation between the Board and Superintendent. The rating scale would use Exceeds (3), Meets (2), and Does Not Meet (1).
The Superintendent's contract provides a base annual salary of $294,674, effective January 1, 2026, and allows a discretionary performance increase of 5% to 8% following a qualifying annual evaluation. Under the proposed evaluation framework, the average score across the five standards would inform the compensation adjustment, ranging from no adjustment for an average below 2.00 to 8% for an average of 2.80 to 3.00.
Student Transportation and School Safety
Six Regular-Education Bus Routes Remain Unfilled
The Superintendent's report says the Department worked with bus contractors to consolidate and cover 20 impacted routes. As of August 5, 2026, six routes on Hawaiʻi Island and Maui remained unfilled, with contractor drivers in training expected to begin work during August.
The Department reports 21,183 students participating in its student transportation program. Eligible middle/intermediate and high school students may use regular school buses or, where applicable, the EXPRESS program, which provides free county transit passes.
School Resource Officer Pilot Expands
The Department's Oʻahu School Resource Officer pilot, operated in partnership with the Honolulu Police Department, uses retired police officers on campuses as mentors and role models. The pilot began in January 2026 at Kaimukī, Kapolei, and Waiʻanae high schools and has expanded to Nānākuli High & Intermediate School following positive feedback.
Special Education Funding Advocacy
40 By 40: Fulfill the IDEA Promise
The Board is scheduled to consider joining the national 40 By 40: Fulfill the IDEA Promise campaign. The campaign seeks to build coordinated national advocacy for Congress to provide federal IDEA funding equal to 40% of average per-pupil expenditures by 2040.
The packet argues that federal IDEA funding has consistently fallen below the maximum authorized amount, requiring states such as Hawaiʻi to use state resources for special education obligations and potentially divert funding from other educational priorities.
The Chairperson recommends that the Board:
- Authorize participation in the national campaign.
- Authorize the Board Chairperson to designate a Board member as Hawaiʻi's representative to the campaign.
State Public Charter School Commission Vacancies
The Board is scheduled to consider establishing an investigative committee to review applicants for two vacant seats on the State Public Charter School Commission. The vacancies carry three-year terms beginning upon approval and continuing through June 30, 2029. Applications are due August 27, 2026.
The proposed process calls for the investigative committee to recommend no more than three nominees per vacancy. The committee is expected to present nominations at the October 8, 2026 General Business Meeting, followed by Board action at the November 12, 2026 General Business Meeting.
The proposed motion would designate Bill Arakaki, Elynne Chung, Kahele Dukelow, and Mary Hattori to the investigative committee, with Hattori serving as chairperson.
Other Reports and Agenda Items
The Special Meeting also includes:
- Approval of minutes from the May 14, 2026 General Business Meeting.
- An oral report from the Chairperson's designee to the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board.
- An Audit Committee oral report on its June 18, 2026 meeting.
- An oral report on events attended by Board members during July 2026.
- Superintendent recognition of students, employees, and schools, including national principal, career and technical education, and Presidential AI Challenge honors.
Public Testimony and Community Participation
The Board will accept public testimony with each agenda item. Written testimony included in the packet addresses, among other matters, the proposed bylaw amendments, the Board self-assessment, the 40 By 40 campaign, and public access to the Audit Committee report.
The meeting is in person, with online participation offered as a courtesy. The Board states that the in-person meeting will continue if online audio or video service stops working. Oral and written testimony must relate to an agenda item, and the standard oral testimony allotment is three minutes per person per agenda item, subject to adjustment by the chairperson.
What to Watch at the Meeting
Several items could shape how the Board operates during the coming fiscal year:
- Whether the Board adopts the proposed leadership and committee slate.
- Whether the proposed bylaws are adopted at this Special Meeting or receive further consideration, particularly given written testimony requesting additional discussion.
- How Board members respond to the proposed first formal self-assessment and its fall 2026 timeline.
- The investigative committee's proposed FY27 superintendent evaluation framework, which is intended to return for action at a subsequent meeting.
- Whether the Board joins the national 40 By 40 campaign.
- Which members are designated to review candidates for the two remaining State Public Charter School Commission vacancies.
The official public-body source for this packet is the Hawaii State Board of Education.
Official Meeting Source URL:
https://boe.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/special_agenda_20260813.pdf
Meeting/document listing page:
https://boe.hawaii.gov/agendas/
Provider: hawaii-boe
Provider Meeting ID: special_agenda_20260813
Civic Translator summarized publicly available meeting materials.
