Governor Neil Abercrombie signed Senate Bill 2545, Relating to Education, into law. The measure establishes the Executive Office on Early Learning.
Currently, Hawaii is just one of eleven states without a publically funded preschool program. SB 2545 works in concert with the Governor's Early Childhood Education Initiative to help the State join the rest of the country and meet its goal of providing a viable early learning system for Hawaii's youngest keiki.
"What we know as parents and what the research tells us is clear: access to developmentally and age appropriate educational opportunities makes a difference," said Senate Committee on Education Chair Jill Tokuda.
SB2545 establishes the Executive Office on Early Learning to provide for the necessary coordination and cooperation amongst all relevant governmental departments and agencies. In addition, the existing Early Learning Council will transition into its new role as the Early Learning Advisory Board, providing guidance and perspective from the public and private sector.
To assist in the implementation of a uniform early learning program SB 2545 will phase out Junior Kindergarten, repealing the program at the end of the 2013-2014 school year. In 2008 Hawaii established Keiki First Steps, a statewide early learning system, focused on maximizing public and private resources to ensure the delivery of services throughout our communities.
"SB2545 represents the very first steps of Keiki First Steps," said Senator Jill Tokuda. "The measure calls on the Office to develop an implementation plan and projected financials to ensure a seamless transition to an early learning system, focusing on those targeted four year olds most impacted by the loss of Junior Kindergarten."
The measure also clarifies a law passed in 2010 by making clear that a child must be at least 5 years old by July 31st in order to enter kindergarten, but pushes back this mandate back to the 2014-15 year to align with the implementation of Keiki First Steps, and focused on ensuring all children have meaningful options. View the media release.
Governor Neil Abercrombie enacted Senate Bill (SB) 2115 and SB 2116, Relating to Charter Schools, into law. Together, SB 2115 and SB 2116 strengthen Hawaii's Charter School System by increasing accountability in the governance of Hawaii's Charter Schools that will foster improved student outcomes.
SB 2115, the charter school omnibus measure, puts in place a comprehensive governance system for Hawaii's charter schools. The measure establishes clear lines of authority and clarifies the relationships, responsibilities, and lines of accountability among stakeholders of Hawaii's Charter School System. SB 2116 appropriates funds to help with the transition.
"Senate Bill 2115 puts in place a solid system of governance that will be good for our students, families and community," said Senate Committee on Education Chair Jill Tokuda. "It ensures that charter schools maintain the autonomy and flexibility they need to be innovative while providing the requisite level of accountability as these are public school students, and tax payer dollars."
SB 2115 and SB 2116 are a direct result of the Charter School Governance, Accountability, and Authority Task Force (CSGTF) which was Co-Chaired by Senator Jill Tokuda and Representative Della Au Belatti.
While countless hours have gone into these measures, the real work lies ahead in the implementation and transition," said Senator Tokuda, "Change is never easy, and if we are going to be successful we will need the buy in and participation of all stakeholder groups."
Charter School Governance, Accountability, and Authority Task Force
CSGTF was established during the 2011 Session through the enactment SB 1174 (Act 130). This bill was introduced to address several issues brought to surface relating to charter schools. Act 130 established a task force that sought accountability among stakeholders of the charter school system. Objectives of the task force were to develop legislation or administrative rules on the governance structure of charter schools, identify oversight and monitor responsibilities of the charter school review panel, as well as to discuss funding related issues. View the media release.
