Final testimony needed by 3 p.m. Thursday on salary compression, shortage differentials, 21 hours

Educators and supporters, we are asking for your testimony one last time! Monday afternoon, the important state House Finance Committee posted an agenda showing it will hear bills on Friday, April 1, that have recently passed through the House Labor & Tourism Committee and are important to ensure the state can attract and retain experienced educators and ease the teacher shortage crisis. This is the last time testimony will be accepted for these important bills, so it’s critical now more than ever that we make our voices heard!

Senate Bill 2819, SD2, HD2 would guarantee that teachers in Hawaii, like their counterparts around the United States, have their salaries adjusted based on their years of experience, meaning more than 8,000 of our members would see corrections in their salaries to help keep them in the profession longer.

You can see here how so many of our teachers have been “compressed” on the salary schedule, especially on steps 9, 11, 12, and 13, and that years of service fall out of alignment with salary steps with more years of service.

You can learn more about compression at this frequently asked questions page.

The committee will also take up the continuation of the shortage differentials. Since their start in January of 2020, shortage differentials have been funded by the Hawaii State Department of Education at the direction of the Hawaii Board of Education and they are working by decreasing shortages. Senate Bill 2820, SD2, HD1 would make sure funding is secured for the differentials currently in place for special education, Hawaiian language immersion, and geographically hard-to-fill areas.

Senate Bill 3209, SD2 would restore educators’ 21 hours of job-embedded professional development, which was removed from the contract last year due to budget cuts, resulting in a 1.5% pay reduction for teachers. Restoring paid professional development would provide teachers the chance to hone their skillset and achieve higher pay while being compensated for conducting work activities outside of regular working hours.

Your written testimony is crucial to getting these bills passed

Your swift action is necessary! This is the last time testimony will be accepted for these bills. Your testimony does not have to be lengthy and detailed, but it should tell your story and why the passage of these bills is important for you and for students. Legislators need to see that there is a lot of educator support for these important issues.

Please submit written testimony before 3 p.m. Thursday, 24 hours prior to the hearing.

If you are using reusing or reworking previous written testimony, whether it was from last month or two years ago, please be sure to update the bill numbers, which have changed. Then on Friday, you can monitor the 3 p.m. committee hearing via the Hawaii House of Representatives YouTube page.

Representatives will also vote on menstrual equity

Senate Bill 2821, SD2, a bill to provide menstrual equity, will also be discussed at the House Finance Committee. Oftentimes, students who do not have access to proper menstrual care products miss school unnecessarily. Senate President Ron Kouchi said in his opening day remarks, “what struck me is the quote, ‘if we have to make a decision between buying food for the family or getting the right products for their teenager, then the food will win.’ That should not be a choice that our people have to make. We need to ensure that we’re giving them every tool to allow them to succeed.”

How to submit testimony on these important bills

1. Register for an account on the Hawaii State Legislature’s website. [Click to view: Instructions | Video] Note: Once registered for an account, you will be able to use it every time you want to submit testimony on a bill!
2. Once you are signed in, click on the bill you wish to testify on:
   • SB2819, SD2, HD2 Relating to teacher compensation (salary compression)
   • SB2820, SD2, HD1 Relating to teacher compensation (teacher differentials)
   • SB3209, SD2 Relating to teacher professional development
   • SB2821, SD2 Relating to menstrual equality (free menstrual products to students)
3. Click on the blue “Submit Testimony” button next to the bill name. Confirm the bill number and hit Continue. [Click to view: Instructions | Video | Sample testimony]
4. Under Your position on SB[number], check Support.
5. Under Testifying, check As an individual citizen.
6. Under How will you be testifying?, please select Written testimony only.
7. Upload your testimony as a document or type or paste it into the provided field and click on Submit. Please note, once you submit, you are no longer able to edit testimony.

Written testimony tips

• Address the committee chair and members: “Chair Luke, Vice Chair Yamashita, and members of the Committee.”
• State the resolution and your position: “I am submitting testimony in support of Senate Bill [number].”
• Introduce yourself and state what district you teach in or school (up to you). Please note, all testimony is public, so do not include your personal contact information, such as your phone number or home address, in your testimony.
• Summarize the reason for your position.
  • Provide factual accounts of the impact the legislation will have.
  • Tell a personal story. Personal stories demonstrating your position can be powerful. It would be helpful to state how salary compression has impacted you (Are you in the middle of the salary schedule after 10, 15, 20 years? Or do you know a teacher or teachers who resigned, because they could make more somewhere else/couldn’t afford rent/could never afford to own their own home here? Will paying you a fair wage for your experience convince you to stay teaching a few more years, preventing the teacher shortage crisis from getting worse?
• Restate your position and provide a recommendation for action: “Please vote in support of Senate Bill [number].”
• Be sure to reference the correct bill numbers for the testimony you are going to provide.
• Thank the committee for the opportunity to testify.

This process takes just a few minutes and is essential. Lawmakers need to hear your voice through your written testimony. Keep in mind, this is the last time testimony will be accepted for these bills, so we need to make our voices heard. After Friday’s Finance Committee hearing, the House and Senate will have to agree on the final language before it goes to a full floor vote in both the House and the Senate.

With all of us working together to support these critical issues, we can successfully advocate to get these bills passed and signed into law once and for all!

Mahalo for doing your part to make these efforts a success.