# Hawaii HB 620: RELATING TO EDUCATION.

Hawaii HB 620, RELATING TO EDUCATION., is a 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2) House bill sponsored by Justin H. Woodson (Democratic); status failed, last action 2026-04-02 (Received notice of the discharge of all House Conferees (Hse. Com. No. 457).) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB620-2026
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Hawaii HB 620
- State: Hawaii
- Session: 2025–2026 Regular Session (Year 2)
- Title: RELATING TO EDUCATION.
- Status: failed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-01-17
- Last action: 2026-04-02, Received notice of the discharge of all House Conferees (Hse. Com. No. 457).
- Sponsor: Justin H. Woodson (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 19
- Subjects: DOE, Braille, Low Vision or Blind Students, Individualized Educational Programs, Section 504 Plans, Braille Instruction, Print Instructional Materials, Braille Literacy Resource Center, Rules, Appropriations, EDU, WAM
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 7 (167 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Establishes braille literacy as a policy of the State. Requires literacy assessments for eligible low vision and blind students to include braille instruction and the use of braille. Authorizes the Department of Education to adopt administrative rules. Establishes the Braille Literacy Resource Center. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Justin H. Woodson (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Terez Amato (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Cory M. Chun (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Tina Nakada Grandinetti (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Daniel Holt (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Kirstin Kahaloa (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Darius K. Kila (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: LA CHICA
- Cosponsor: Mike Lee (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: M.
- Cosponsor: Lisa Marten (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Lauren Matsumoto (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Dee Morikawa (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Amy A. Perruso (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Elijah Pierick (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Mahina Poepoe (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jenna Takenouchi (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Adrian K. Tam (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: David A. Tarnas (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Chris Todd (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-04-08 | Senate | Senate Floor Vote | pass | 25 | 0 |   |
| 2025-04-02 | Senate | The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The... | pass | 13 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-10 | Senate | The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENT... | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-04 | House | House Floor Vote | pass | 49 | 0 |   |
| 2025-02-26 | House | The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes ... | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2025-02-11 | House | Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN... | pass | 49 | 0 |   |
| 2025-02-04 | House | The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The ... | pass | 11 | 0 |   |

## Actions (42)

- 2026-04-02: Received notice of the discharge of all House Conferees (Hse. Com. No. 457). (Senate)
- 2026-04-01: House Conferee(s) discharged. (House)
- 2026-03-20: Senate Conferee(s) discharged. (Senate)
- 2026-03-20: Received notice of all Senate conferees being discharged (Sen. Com. No. 409). (House)
- 2025-12-08: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
- 2025-04-25: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 04-25-25 2:50PM in conference room 229. (House)
- 2025-04-25: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 04-25-25 4:40PM in conference room 229. (House)
- 2025-04-25: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 04-25-25 5:35PM in conference room 229. (House)
- 2025-04-25: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 04-25-25 5:55PM in conference room 229. (House)
- 2025-04-25: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 04-25-25 6:20PM in conference room 229. (House)
- 2025-04-24: Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Friday 04-25-25 1:30PM in conference room 229. (House)
- 2025-04-23: Senate Conferees Appointed: Kidani Chair; Kim Co-Chair; Kanuha, DeCorte. (Senate)
- 2025-04-23: Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Thursday, 04-24-25 3:05PM in conference room 229. (House)
- 2025-04-23: Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 873). (House)
- 2025-04-15: Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 732). (Senate)
- 2025-04-14: House Conferees Appointed: Woodson, Morikawa Co-Chairs; Souza. (House)
- 2025-04-11: Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 704). (Senate)
- 2025-04-10: House disagrees with Senate amendment (s). (House)
- 2025-04-08: Report adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House. (Senate)
- 2025-04-08: Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 659) in amended form (SD 1). (House)
- 2025-04-04: Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1683) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading. (Senate)
- 2025-04-04: One Day Notice 04-08-25. (Senate)
- 2025-04-02: The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 13 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, Aquino, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2025-03-27: The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-02-25 10:01AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-03-14: Reported from EDU (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1088) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-03-14: Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-03-10: The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDU were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kidani, Kim, Hashimoto, Kanuha, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. (Senate)
- 2025-03-07: The committee(s) on EDU has scheduled a public hearing on 03-10-25 3:00PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference. (Senate)
- 2025-03-06: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 260). (Senate)
- 2025-03-06: Passed First Reading. (Senate)
- 2025-03-06: Referred to EDU, WAM. (Senate)
- 2025-03-04: Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Pierick, Ward excused (2). Transmitted to Senate. (House)
- 2025-02-28: Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1101), recommending passage on Third Reading. (House)
- 2025-02-26: The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamashita, Takenouchi, Grandinetti, Holt, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lamosao, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Templo, Alcos, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Ward. (House)
- 2025-02-24: Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Wednesday, 02-26-25 10:50AM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-02-11: Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 346) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN. (House)
- 2025-02-11: Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Ward excused (2). (House)
- 2025-02-04: The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 11 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Garrett, Kapela, Kila, Olds, Sayama, Muraoka, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none. (House)
- 2025-01-31: Bill scheduled to be heard by EDN on Tuesday, 02-04-25 2:00PM in House conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. (House)
- 2025-01-21: Introduced and Pass First Reading. (House)
- 2025-01-21: Referred to EDN, FIN, referral sheet 2 (House)
- 2025-01-17: Pending introduction. (House)

## Bill text

- Bill Text: [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB620_SD1_.pdf)
- HB620_HD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB620_HD1_.HTM)
- HB620_SD1: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB620_SD1_.HTM)
- Original: [HTML](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB620_.HTM), [PDF](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB620_.PDF)

## Related bills

- SB 847: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS. (became law)
- SB 2338: RELATING TO HOUSING. (signed)
- HB 2344: RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES. (signed)
- HB 2023: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. (signed)
- HB 2021: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION. (signed)
- SB 2964: RELATING TO PROPERTY INSURANCE. (signed)

## Sources
- [Bill Text (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB620_SD1_.pdf)
- [HB620_HD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB620_HD1_.HTM)
- [HB620_SD1 (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB620_SD1_.HTM)
- [Original (HTML)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB620_.HTM)
- [Original (PDF)](https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2026/bills/HB620_.PDF)

## Related
- [SB 847: RELATING TO PSYCHOLOGISTS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB847-2026)
- [SB 2338: RELATING TO HOUSING.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2338-2026)
- [HB 2344: RELATING TO SCHOOL FACILITIES.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2344-2026)
- [HB 2023: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2023-2026)
- [HB 2021: RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB2021-2026)
- [SB 2964: RELATING TO PROPERTY INSURANCE.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-SB2964-2026)
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- [Hawaii state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/hawaii)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/HI-HB620-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).