HIDOE confuses teachers by emailing them classification status forms

This week many teachers were confused to receive Personnel Form 16Bs in their work emails from the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE). HSTA is happy to report that this transmission was actually the result of our members learning more about the reclassification process at our Teacher Institute Day. After our Monday Institute, many of the 600+ neighbor island teachers who participated in the Negotiations Committee breakout session on reclassification and more specifically information on how to prepare for reclassification from Class VII to VIII learned that they should locate their most recent Personnel Form 16B.

A Form 16B (aka Evaluation of Certification/License and Classification Status [Personnel Form 16B]) form that HIDOE’s Office of Talent Management (OTM) publishes each time a teacher reclassifies and/or submits credits or education attainment to the employer. It also lists the educator’s current classification level, degrees earned (and on file), as well as a teacher’s Hawaiʻi Teachers Standards Board (HTSB) License.

Members can access a members-only Know Your Rights resource on reclassification to Class VIII here (must be logged in to the website to access this PDF).

After our Monday session, many teachers reached out to HIDOE’s Teacher Reclassification Unit office via phone or email teacher.reclassification@k12.hi.us seeking copies of their 16B. When staffers in that office started to realize that many teachers were seeking this information, they tried to be proactive and decided to send out copies of the form to all teachers. Unfortunately, some folks may have received an outdated copy, or in fact didn’t receive an email this week at all because they were hired prior to the HIDOE’s use of e-HR, and have not submitted any new credits for reclassification to the HIDOE since that time.

HIDOE’s Office of Talent Management emailed HSTA President Osa Tui, Jr. with an explanation and said, “Our sincere apologies for the confusion.”

Should a teacher need an updated form or have further questions about the status of any information on their Personnel Form 16B, they should email teacher.reclassification@k12.hi.us to make a request, and they will be sent a current copy.

In addition, we were notified that the HTSB started to receive calls this week because some of the 16Bs emailed by HIDOE to teachers had outdated licensing information. The HIDOE has confirmed that teachers should not worry about any license status on their 16Bs at this point. The most recent audit of permit/license status has indicated that all teachers are compliant.

Teachers should also know that the status of anyone who holds a teaching license is publicly available information. Anyone can go to the HTSB website and enter their name in the public license search or log into their account and confirm their current license status.