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Committee advances bill to fund 50 more public pre‑K classrooms, includes positions and funding in committee report
Summary
The committee approved HD1 to expand public preschool with funding and positions to add about 50 more classrooms over two years; EOEL and Lieutenant Governor emphasized early education gains from the Ready Keiki initiative.
The House Committee on Education passed an amended HB 429 to expand public pre‑K across the state and incorporate funding and positions into the committee report.
Yuko Arakawa Cross, director of the Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL), told the committee that EOEL currently partners with the Hawaii State Department of Education to administer 72 public pre‑K classrooms across 74 campuses and that the bill’s funding and positions would allow adding an additional 50 classrooms over the next two years. The committee also heard from Lieutenant Governor Luke, who credited the Ready Keiki initiative for opening more than 50 classrooms since launch and said the expansion aims to improve kindergarten readiness and provide working-family supports.
Why it matters: Committee testimony stressed kindergarten readiness gaps and equity concerns; EOEL said Hawaii currently meets National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) benchmarks (10 of 10) and that only about half of children attend preschool statewide.
Support and details: EOEL said its prior biennium request included positions and funding and that the funding in this bill was included in the governor’s budget request. The bill was presented as a continuation of Ready Keiki, with goals to build classrooms statewide, including Hawaiian immersion classrooms and outreach to under‑served islands and communities.
Next steps: The committee passed HB 429 with HD1 and directed that amounts and positions be included in the committee report and the effective date defected to 07/01/3000.
