Bill > HB258

This bill establishes a supplemental sports program for high school students in West Oahu, an area spanning from Waipahu to Makaua and including south shore communities from Iroquois Point to Kapolei. The program will be available to students from all types of high schools (public, private, charter, and home schools) and will be implemented at public high schools with over 2,500 students. Each participating school will designate personnel to coordinate the program and ensure facility availability. The sports program will cover multiple sports including football, basketball, volleyball, baseball, tennis, swimming, water polo, cross country, softball, and track & field, with teams divided by biological gender. The Department of Education will be responsible for informing students about the program and creating teams based on participant numbers, not limited by school enrollment. The program will be authorized to use existing school facilities, with current athletic programs expected to make good-faith efforts to accommodate the supplemental program. The bill also includes funding to establish two full-time equivalent positions to implement the program, with the act set to take effect on July 1, 2025. The legislative findings emphasize the importance of youth sports in providing students with community, identity, and life skills, particularly addressing the need to support students in high-enrollment schools who might otherwise be cut from traditional sports teams.

Education

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=258&year=2026