An amended bill that would require teachers to surrender their licenses during any investigation into student sexual misconduct or abuse before retiring or resigning passed out of the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee on Friday.

Currently, teachers accused of sexual misconduct could exploit the investigation process by resigning or retiring before any investigations are complete, according to the latest version of House Bill 2400.

According to the bill, teachers accused of sexual assault could resign or retire before investigations are complete, and the Legislature needs “to rectify this dangerous loophole.”

Felicia Villa­lobos, executive director of the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, told the committee Friday that requiring teachers to surrender their licenses would be more suitable than having their licenses revoked, which would allow their names to be entered into the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification database, alerting school districts nationwide about their allegations in Hawaii.

“Surrendering under this type of circumstance would allow the HTSB to enter their name into the NASDTEC Clearinghouse database,” Villalobos said. “This would then be immediately reported to all 50 states and jurisdictions that participate in the NASDTEC Clearinghouse database.”

As a high school student in Washington, Rachel Untalan wrote in support of HB 2400 that she and other students were sexually assaulted and harassed by a male math teacher.

Instead of referring a student’s allegations to law enforcement, Untalan wrote that her school instead proceeded with an internal investigation that failed to protect the student.

She wrote that the teacher retired without any consequences.

“The proposed bill aligns with the need for increased accountability within the education system and serves as a crucial step towards safeguarding the well-being of students,” Untalan wrote.