Educators must have at least 7 years HIDOE service to be considered for next school year

Teacher sabbatical leave applications are now being accepted by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) for the school year 2025–26. Teachers may apply for one semester or for the entire school year by Jan. 31, 2025.

The Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association contract calls for the granting of no less than fifty (50) sabbatical leaves a year. The HSTA strongly encourages teachers who will have at least seven years of experience teaching in HIDOE by the end of the school year 2024–25 to consider applying for a sabbatical.

What is sabbatical leave?

The HIDOE may grant sabbatical leaves to teachers for the purposes of improving professional knowledge, skills and abilities. Any teacher who has completed seven years of service in the HIDOE as of the beginning date of the sabbatical leave is eligible. Upon return from a sabbatical leave, a minimum period of seven years of service must be completed to qualify for another sabbatical leave.

Forms and documents

Click to download:

All documents can be found online here (HIDOE Intranet login and password required). Should there be any questions, please contact Sheri Uyematsu, Human Resources Officer, at 808-441-8373 or via email at sheri.uyematsu@k12.hi.us.

Deadlines and dates

The following is a list of key deadlines and dates:

  • Jan. 31, 2025: Teacher submits DOE OTM 100-001, Teacher submits the DOE OTM 100-001, Sabbatical/Professional Improvement Leave for Certificated Employees, and supporting documents to the principal/supervisor for review and signature.
  • Feb. 7, 2025: Principal reviews the DOE OTM 100-001 and submits to the Complex Area Superintendent (CAS) for review and signature.
  • Feb. 14, 2025: CAS submits the DOE OTM 100-001 form via courier to OTM; Employee Records and Transactions Section; Attention: Sheri Uyematsu, Teacher Sabbatical Leave; Dole Cannery, Suite 300, or via email to sheri.uyematsu@k12.hi.us.
  • March 10, 2025: OTM sends a notification of approval or non-approval to all applicants.
  • March 31, 2025: Teacher returns the signed Contract for Sabbatical Leave to OTM, Employee Records and Transactions Section; Attention: Sheri Uyematsu, Teacher Sabbatical Leave; Dole Cannery, Suite 300, or via email to sheri.uyematsu@k12.hi.us.

Terms and conditions

A sabbatical leave may be taken for one school year at half pay or for one semester at full pay. Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund (EUTF), HIDOE service credits, and Hawaii Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) retirement credits may be continued for the period of the leave provided that all leave requirements are met. Sick leave or vacation leave is not accrued while on sabbatical leave. The paid sabbatical leave may not be extended, but may be followed by a professional improvement leave of absence without pay provided that all sabbatical leave requirements are met.

A teacher on sabbatical leave for one school year must spend at least the equivalent of one-half year in professional educational course work and shall earn at least 15 semester credits of approved university course work and/or research, or other professional activity, or a combination thereof approved by the HIDOE. The leave requirements must be completed within the effective dates of the leave. The teacher shall provide satisfactory evidence of the completion of the requirements with official transcripts (if applicable) and a summary write-up of their sabbatical, signed and acknowledged by the principal/supervisor. The conditions for a teacher on sabbatical leave for one semester are the same except a semester leave requires eight semester credits of approved university course work. Employment while on leave may be permitted with prior approval from the Office of Talent Management.

Teachers are assured of a guarantee of employment to which they are entitled upon their return to active service.

Teachers are required to sign an agreement to return to active service with the HIDOE for two consecutive years immediately following the leave. Failure to fulfill all sabbatical leave requirements will result in the teacher returning all monies received while on sabbatical leave to the HIDOE and the sabbatical leave will be changed to a Leave of Absence without Pay (LWOP). Teachers on LWOP do not receive HIDOE service credit or ERS credit.

Sabbaticals for charter school teachers

Charter school teachers are not eligible for the HIDOE sabbatical leave program. They would need to inquire about sabbaticals with their charters which are their employers. While funding for the 50 HIDOE sabbatical leaves is already built into the HIDOE’s overall budget, there is no secondary line item funding for charter teachers. The charter funding formula is complicated, but in a nutshell, the state tells the charters that the cost of sabbaticals and the share that they should get is already baked into their per-pupil funding allocations.

If a charter teacher is interested in a sabbatical and meets the basic criteria (e.g., worked as a teacher for seven years), they would have to request a sabbatical and, if denied, would have to file a grievance against the charter school to force the issue. If the school loses the grievance then it would have to fund the cost of the sabbatical out of the school’s existing funding.

The HSTA tried unsuccessfully in the last round of bargaining to restructure its teacher contract language to allow for sabbatical seats for charter teachers, but the state would not agree. The union is working with the Hawaiʻi State Public Charter School Commission to find options to get separate funding through the Legislature and/or other ways to address the funding issue. If we are not successful, the HSTA anticipates we will try again in the 2027 contract to secure some language changes.