Licensure Reciprocity: Hawaii

Analysis of Hawaii's policies

Hawaii does not support licensure reciprocity for certified teachers from other states.

Regrettably, Hawaii accepts passing test scores based on the applicant's previous state requirements. For tests not taken but required by Hawaii, out-of-state teachers must meet Hawaii test requirements.

Out-of-state teachers with valid, standard professional certificates may be eligible for Hawaii's professional certificate. To qualify, applicants must have completed a state-approved teacher education program. Transcripts are required to verify the preparation program; however, it is not clear whether the state also analyzes these transcripts to determine whether additional coursework will be required.

Hawaii is also a participant in the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement; however, the latest iteration of this agreement no longer purports to be a reciprocity agreement among states and thus is no longer included in this analysis.

Citation

Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, Form OS2007

Recommendations for Hawaii

To uphold standards, require that teachers coming from other states meet testing requirements.
Hawaii takes considerable risk by granting a waiver for its licensing tests to any out-of-state teacher with a passing test score in another state. It should not provide any waivers of its teacher tests unless an applicant can provide evidence of a passing score under its own standards.

Accord the same license to out-of-state alternate route teachers as would be accorded to traditionally prepared teachers.
All certified out-of-state teachers should receive equal treatment. Hawaii should expand its reciprocity policy to include all valid professional certificates, regardless of whether a teacher was prepared through a traditional or alternate route. State policies that discriminate against teachers who were prepared in an alternate route are not supported by evidence. In fact, a substantial body of research has failed to discern differences in effectiveness between alternate and traditional route teachers.

The state should also consider discontinuing its requirement for the submission of transcripts. Transcript analysis is likely to result in additional coursework requirements, even for traditionally prepared teachers; alternate route teachers, on the other hand, may have to virtually begin anew, repeating some, most or all of a teacher preparation program in Hawaii. 

State response to our analysis

Hawaii had no comment on this goal.