Shortage differentials that the Hawaii State Department of Education began in January for special education classroom teachers, Hawaiian language immersion educators and teachers at hard-to-staff schools will continue in school year 2020–21, after the department confirmed the eligibility criteria in a memo published this week.

The HSTA suggests significantly boosting the dollar amounts bonuses each year at locations plagued by a high percentage of unlicensed teachers, in geographically isolated complexes and where the combination of vacancies and emergency hires makes up more than 10 percent of the teaching force.

The National Council on Teacher Quality reports at least 35 of the major school districts across the country already offer SpEd teachers a financial bonus of some kind, ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 a year. Hawaii offers no pay differential for SpEd teachers.