Hawaii Lawmakers Press Teacher Preparation Leaders on Licensing Backlogs, Shortages

State lawmakers sharply questioned leaders of Hawaii’s teacher preparation system about licensing backlogs, staffing shortages and student achievement gaps, warning that delays in certifying teachers are harming classroom stability.

At a Jan. 28–29 legislative hearing, senators confronted the Teacher Education Coordinating Committee and Department of Education officials after a December report cited by Sen. Troy Hashimoto found that "48% of new teacher hires in classrooms were not fully licensed." DOE officials responded with a different snapshot, saying that as of Jan. 30 "91% of the total 12,963 classroom teachers hold a valid teaching license." Lawmakers pressed for clarity on the differing measures and for the underlying data.

Kerry Tom, TECC facilitator and the schools superintendent’s designee, said TECC "functions at a 'macro' level, setting statewide priorities while leaving individual educator preparation programs, including UH Manoa and 14 other approved providers, to design their own curricula." Tom also said the committee "recently adopted a five‑year strategic plan focused on three goals: building teacher capacity, improving in‑service teacher satisfaction, and advocating for competitive compensation and incentives." Several senators, including Higher Education Chair Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, said they were largely unfamiliar with TECC. "That kind of worries me," Kim said. "You guys seem to be kind of really low‑key."

Lawmakers also challenged DOE claims about recruitment volume. The department has said it "processed 11,000 teacher applications to fill about 1,000 vacancies," a figure lawmakers questioned; DOE explained that a pooled application system inflates totals because candidates may apply to multiple positions. For Big Island schools, that distinction matters for understanding whether hiring pipelines are producing distinct qualified candidates or simply multiple submissions from the same applicants.

Retention and turnover are central to the staffing squeeze. DOE officials reported that retention remains weak, with "just over 50% of teachers remaining in the workforce after five years." By contrast, UH Manoa reports "a 90% retention rate among its graduates beyond five years." Kerry Tom said DOE separation data show many teachers leaving the state for reasons including "affordability, military transfers and transience," factors that affect island communities differently.

Hawaii’s challenges echo problems elsewhere. In Colorado, a licensing backlog left teachers waiting up to five months for initial credentials, and officials tied the backlog to a surge in applicants, an outdated approval system and new screening duties added without extra funding. "This is most impactful for those requesting an initial license or those applying for the first time in Colorado. They can't start teaching - or shouldn't - until they have their license in hand," said Jami Goetz of Colorado’s licensing office. Colorado legislators limited continuous spending authority for hiring to three years as a temporary fix, Anne Barkis said: "The original bill was amended to provide continuous spending authority for just three years, and the department must report on those funds to the General Assembly, and any new hires can't be FTEs, but only contract employees."

For Big Island parents and school leaders, the hearing underscored immediate risks: a substantial share of classroom fill-ins are emergency or provisionally certified hires, and turnover pressures can widen class sizes and disrupt student learning. Lawmakers signaled they will press for the December report, DOE staffing and application data, and TECC’s five‑year plan to reconcile the conflicting metrics. The next chapter will be whether the Legislature moves from questioning to concrete oversight or funding changes targeted at speeding certification and stabilizing classrooms.