The Hawaii State Teachers Association continues to work to ensure that our members’ health and safety remain a priority, our contract and employment rights are preserved, and information is being communicated in an accurate and timely manner.

On July 26, 2022, the Hawaii State Department of Education updated its health and safety guidance for schools for the 2022–23 school year. The most significant changes from the previous school year include:

  • Indoor and outdoor masking is optional for students and employees.
  • Indoor masking is strongly encouraged when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determines community levels are medium or high.
  • Quarantine is not required for in-school exposures, but indoor masking is strongly recommended for 10 days following an exposure.
  • Isolation requirements remain for anyone who tests positive for COVID or has COVID-like symptoms.
  • Mitigation strategies remain flexible to adapt to a cluster or outbreak.

Click for quick access to these key resources:

Click for questions:

General questions

Yes. Please reference Article VI, Section DD of our contract for more details on the process of changing the bell schedule. Changes must ensure, among other things, a scheduled seven (7) hour work day, with no work day ending after 4:30 p.m., a break of 15 minutes after 180 minutes of consecutive instruction, a duty-free lunch of a minimum of 30 minutes, and 225 minutes of teacher initiated preparation time a week. — Sept. 13, 2021

Under state law Hawaii Revised Statute §302D-17(e), the State Public Charter School Commission has the authority to direct governing boards and charter schools to take appropriate action to address serious health and safety issues. On March 4, 2020, the commission accepted Superintendent Christina Kishimoto’s offer to coordinate and direct all of our 37 public charter schools for the purposes of responding to threats posed by a potential COVID-19 outbreak. To HSTA’s knowledge, this memo has not been rescinded, however, schools appear to still be following the BOE guidance issued June 18, 2020, which indicates that “the Board encourages each charter school to use the Superintendent’s comprehensive guidance as it sees fit and to provide its students, families, and school personnel with clear guidance on the steps the charter school is taking to ensure their health and safety.” Charter teachers should contact their HSTA UniServ Director if they have more questions. — Sept. 13, 2021

Questions relating to HIDOE guidance

The agreements reached between the HSTA and the superintendent in school year 2020–21 have all expired, and HSTA’s current contract is in effect. Article X – Teacher Protection (pages 47–50) covers health and safety expectations. — July 29, 2022

Questions relating to health and safety

As of July 26, 2022, the HIDOE has lifted all mandatory masking requirements. However, indoor masking is strongly encouraged (but not required) in the following situations:

  • COVID-19 community levels are medium or high;
  • Following exposure to someone who tested positive; and
  • For five (5) days following travel.

More information can be found on pages 10–11 of the HIDOE 2022–23 health and safety guidelines.

Members have been asking about the following section on masking guidance (page 11):

Schools might need to require masking, based on federal, state, or local laws and policies, to ensure that students and staff with immunocompromising conditions or other conditions or disabilities that increase their risk for getting very sick with COVID-19 can access in-person learning or work. Students with immunocompromising conditions or other conditions or disabilities that increase their risk for getting very sick with COVID-19 should not be placed into separate classrooms or otherwise segregated from other students.

In previous discussions, the employer told HSTA that masks could not be imposed by individuals at the school level. We are asking for clarification on this and will provide an update if/when we receive new information from the employer. — July 29, 2022

Because of the ongoing pandemic, it is legal and appropriate for employers to ask employees if they are experiencing symptoms of the pandemic virus. This is to ensure they mitigate the risk of infection spreading from ill employees to others. For COVID-19, these symptoms are outlined by the CDC and are updated as more research and knowledge about COVID-19 becomes available. If an employer chooses to keep records of these screenings, it must maintain all information about the screening and/or employee illness as a confidential medical record in compliance with the law. Please also refer to the HIDOE’s Daily Wellness Check. — July 29, 2022
Yes, you should stay home if you are feeling ill and/or your principal can send you home if you are showing signs of illness. According to the HIDOE’s COVID-19 Health and Safety Guidance for School Year 2022–23: “HIDOE employees, contracted service providers, visitors and students must complete a wellness check each morning before going to school or work. Please report any illness or COVID-19 exposure to the school or supervisor.”

As of July 26, 2022, the HIDOE no longer has independent guidance on isolation and quarantine rules. Employees and students are to follow the DOH guidelines here, which are also linked in the HIDOE’s wellness check guidance.

Check for symptoms of illness. Do you or your child have any of these symptoms? If yes, do not go to school/work.

  • Fever (higher than 100°F or hot to the touch)
  • Chills
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headache
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Sore throat
  • Congestion or runny nose
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea

July 29, 2022

The principal or designee, which on most campuses will be the school health aide, will make that decision. However, teachers should be alert for symptoms in children and send them to the health room for evaluation as appropriate. For more information on the screening process each school should perform, see the HIDOE’s COVID-19 Health and Safety Guidance for School Year 2022–23.

As of July 26, 2022, the HIDOE no longer has independent guidance on isolation and quarantine rules. Employees and students are to follow the DOH guidelines here, which are also linked in the HIDOE’s wellness check guidance. — July 29, 2022

While we all have a responsibility to ensure that we engage in best health and safety practices, our HSTA contract (Article VI, U, page 20) requires that the employer ensure the “maintenance and cleanliness of the campus, classrooms and offices.” — June 30, 2020
Schools are encouraged to bring fresh air into the building spaces as much as possible, and also make sure existing systems are operating properly and circulating in outside air as much as possible. Refer to the ventilation section of HIDOE’s COVID-19 Health and Safety Guidance for School Year 2022–23, pages 8–10.

If you have concerns about the ventilation in your classroom, please contact your school administration and ask for any information related to ventilation of your classroom. The HSTA has been asking for ventilation data and information at every monthly COVID meeting with the employer since the pandemic began. HSTA also sent a formal letter requesting information in September 2021.

Assistant Superintendent Randall Tanaka provided a response on July 26, 2022. While his letter was somewhat helpful, many of HSTA’s questions went unanswered. On Aug. 3, 2022, HSTA responded with this follow-up letter to clarify how HIDOE facilities are ensuring adequate fresh air exchange in classrooms. — Aug. 3, 2022

Questions relating to leave

Teachers* have a variety of options for leave depending on the duration and reason for the leave.  Whether a teacher is paid or not is directly related to a teacher’s paid sick leave or vacation (12-month teachers only) leave bank. The following options for leave may be utilized.

  • Personal leave may be taken for up to six (6) days per year. Teachers should be familiar with the rules about how this leave can be used, and it is taken from your sick leave bank for paid status. The leave is outlined on page 32 of your contract, and members can click here for additional member benefits resources that explain more about how personal leave works. Please note, this information is available on HSTA’s members-only section of our website. You must be an active HSTA member and logged in with your registered account to view it.
  • Sick leave may be taken if a teacher is ill. You may take up to five (5) days sick leave prior to having to provide a sick leave note. After the fifth consecutive day, you will need to provide a note indicating you are under doctor’s care. Being paid on this type of leave is completely dependent upon the status of any sick leave bank a teacher may have. Each 10-month teacher is provided eighteen (18) days each year upon reporting to the first day of work for the school year. Twelve-month teachers receive 21 days of sick leave. In addition, teachers may take sick leave without pay for longer durations even beyond one-year. Members can click here to learn more about how personal leave works. Please note, this information is available on HSTA’s members-only section of our website. You must be an active HSTA member and logged in with your registered account to view it.
  • Vacation leave may be taken by 12-month teachers who are provided 14 days of vacation leave a year, however there are rules specific to requesting and receiving approval for such leave.
  • Family leave may be taken for a variety of reasons depending on the nature of the request. For more information, see the information on FMLA leave below.
  • Unpaid leave may be granted for other reasons including the following: child care, military leave, government service, professional improvement, religious holidays, and “other reasons the department considers reasonable.” All of these leaves have a variety of requirements for approval and vary in their duration.

Medical/health plans will continue while you are on a leave status regardless of paid or unpaid, but if you are on an unpaid leave, you are still responsible for your share of the health care premium.

Tenured teachers can take up to one year off with return rights to a position on their campus for which they are qualified. They can, in some cases, renew that leave for an additional year with rights back to their district.

*Non-tenured teachers have fewer rights related to taking long-term leave and/or return rights to a position. Generally, any rights are able to be utilized only within the current duration (one year) of your tentative teaching agreement (contract). — July 10, 2020

Yes. If you want to be on a paid status, you will need to utilize your paid sick leave. However, if you are told to quarantine because of COVID-like symptoms, you can request access to quarantine leave. Please refer to this HIDOE memo on employee leaves related to COVID-19 and this chart of COVID-19-related leaves.

Related post: Quarantine, sick leave benefits explained

In order to qualify for paid quarantine leave, employees MUST produce a doctor’s note indicating the need to quarantine due to a positive COVID test. The employer will not provide quarantine leave without a doctor’s note.July 29, 2022

No, it should not affect your health benefits. As long as you are on paid leave, you will earn service credit.— Sept. 13, 2021

You may apply for workers’ compensation, but it is likely that the employer will challenge the claim. A key part of any claim will be proving that you contracted the illness at work. For more on this topic, please see the NEAs information on employer liability and workers’ compensation— Aug. 4, 2020

At this time, we know of no plans to approve Bargaining Unit 05 telework from home for purposes of child care. Those who need to take leave for care of their child have the following options. For paid leave, they may take personal leave (paid charged to sick) for up to six (6) days. Teachers may also take leave without pay for up to a year for child care. For more information about the above leave options, visit our members-only Know Your Rights page. You must be a registered user and logged in to view this page. — Sept. 13, 2021

Questions relating to student instruction

Yes. The BOE directed the HIDOE to have non-school level programs available for parents. — July 29, 2022

According to an HIDOE memo issued Sept. 15, 2021, a new attendance code has been created in Infinite Campus (IC) for schools to use for students who are absent due to state-directed quarantine or isolation. The new “QUA: State Directed Quarantine or Isolation” (QUA) code will be used to mark students as an excused absence when they are directed to quarantine or isolate by the DOH and/or the Department, including when these state agencies identify a student as a confirmed or probable COVID-19 case or close contact.

Given the quarantine code changes, the chronic absenteeism measure for Strive HI and the Every Student Succeeds Act will remain the same as in previous years’ calculations. The purpose of the chronic absenteeism measure is to identify students not attending a significant amount of classes (15 or more instructional days) and thus not receiving instruction. To meet the purpose of the chronic absenteeism measure, both unexcused and excused absences will continue to be counted. View the following for more information:

Sept. 15, 2021

Teachers are required to provide lesson plans for the first five (5) days of any leave. — Aug. 4, 2020

The HIDOE and DOH no longer require or recommend physical distancing of desks, classrooms, or workspaces for mitigation of COVID. — July 29, 2022