Hawaii Cuts Pay for Autism Specialists Serving Students on Neighbor Islands
Why It Matters
In Hawaii, roughly 1,000 students with autism depend on trained specialists called registered behavior technicians to access their education each day. A decision by the Hawaii Department of Education to sharply reduce hourly reimbursement rates for agencies that supply those specialists on the neighbor islands is raising alarm among families, agency directors, and disability advocates who fear the cuts could force children out of classrooms entirely.
What Happened
The Hawaii Department of Education is reducing the hourly reimbursement rate paid to agencies that employ registered behavior technicians in neighbor island schools. Under a new contract set to begin in July, agencies will receive $60 per hour for each technician placed in neighbor island schools — a drop of $15 from the current rate of $75 per hour, which was established in 2022.
The $75 hourly rate was introduced four years ago specifically to attract agencies to serve schools on islands like Maui, Lānaʻi, and the Big Island, where it is significantly harder to recruit and retain qualified staff. The department is simultaneously raising the rate for Oʻahu-based technicians from $50 to $60 per hour — a $10 increase that agency directors say will help recruitment on Oʻahu but does not address where shortages are most acute.
Department of Education Communications Director Nanea Ching said in an emailed statement that multiple factors contributed to the rate reduction on the neighbor islands and maintained that schools are not reducing services for autistic students. However, budget documents indicate that schools will be expected to deliver more services with significantly less funding in the coming year.
A Family’s Reality
For Jessica McCullum, a Big Island mother and founder of the nonprofit Ava Sofia Foundation, the stakes are personal. Her 13-year-old daughter Ava is non-verbal and profoundly autistic, attending Kealakehe Intermediate School with the daily support of a registered behavior technician who helps her communicate through an iPad and manage behaviors that could otherwise prevent her from being in school at all.
McCullum noted that on days when Ava’s specialist is unavailable and no replacement can be found, the family keeps Ava home — a recurring situation that directly limits her access to education. “We just kept her home, which is impeding her access to her education,” McCullum said, according to reporting by Civil Beat.
McCullum described the technicians as essential to her daughter’s long-term development. “When we’re thinking about the long road ahead, about what does Ava’s life look like when she becomes 50, 60, or 70 years old, her experience at the school is essential,” she said.
By the Numbers
- $75/hour: Current reimbursement rate for neighbor island behavior technicians, set in 2022
- $60/hour: New rate under the contract beginning July 2026 — a $15 hourly reduction
- ~1,000: Students in Hawaii who require support from a registered behavior technician
- ~1/3: Share of students receiving applied behavior analysis services who live on the neighbor islands
- $70 million vs. $40 million: In 2022, the department estimated it would cost nearly $70 million to employ roughly 720 technicians and specialists. Today, the state has budgeted only $40 million to contract nearly twice as many workers — approximately 1,845 employees
Zoom Out
Hawaii’s challenge reflects a broader national struggle to staff special education programs, particularly in rural and geographically isolated communities. Registered behavior technicians are in high demand across the country as autism diagnoses have risen steadily over the past two decades, and many states report persistent shortages of qualified personnel. Hawaii’s island geography compounds that challenge, making it costly for agencies to recruit and retain workers outside of Honolulu.
The state’s approach to funding these services through contracted agencies rather than direct employment also mirrors models used elsewhere, but critics argue that reimbursement rates must keep pace with the real cost of providing care — including health insurance, workers’ compensation, and administrative overhead. As Hawaii weighs its education budget priorities, the proposed cuts to other public services in Honolulu suggest a broader fiscal squeeze affecting vulnerable populations statewide.
What’s Next
The new contract is scheduled to take effect in July 2026. Agency directors say they are evaluating whether they can continue serving neighbor island schools at the reduced rate without cutting staff pay or withdrawing from rural markets altogether. Beau Laughlin, who runs a Maui-based agency that contracts with the department, warned that the economics of the new rate structure are unsustainable. “You can’t do this and lose money,” he said, according to Civil Beat.
Families of autistic students and disability advocates are expected to push back on the rate change as the July start date approaches. The situation may also draw legislative scrutiny, as Hawaii lawmakers continue reviewing education funding allocations. For more on education and healthcare workforce issues in Hawaii, see coverage of Match Day at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, where medical students recently learned their residency placements.