The 2012 legislative session was extremely productive and one of the most positive in recent memory. Of the 345 measures passed out of the 2012 Legislature, 329 are now law. I signed 323 measures into law and vetoed 14 (six
The 2012 legislative session was extremely productive and one of the most positive in recent memory. Of the 345 measures passed out of the 2012 Legislature, 329 are now law. I signed 323 measures into law and vetoed 14 (six became law without my signature).
Among those measures I signed was one of my administration’s top priority bills that will have a lasting, positive effect on the education of keiki on all our islands. The measure, Senate Bill 2545, establishes the Executive Office of Early Learning with an appointed cabinet-level director. To this important leadership position I was pleased to appoint Terry Lock, who has been serving as the state early childhood coordinator.
One of my early goals as governor was to ensure a collaborative effort to see to it that every young child throughout Hawai‘i has access to high quality preschool. The successful passage of SB 2545 was due to such collaborative and a shared priority on education among members of my administration, as well as state Senate Education Chair Jill Tokuda, state House Education Chair Roy Takumi, the Early Learning Council and many advocates.
In addition to the Executive Office of Early Learning, SB 2545 establishes the Early Learning Advisory Board to replace the Early Learning Council. With five more members than the original 14-member council, the advisory board will advise the newly created office on how best to meet the educational and developmental needs of young children, prenatal to age 5, and how to improve the quality, availability and coordination of early childhood programs.
SB 2545 also requires that students, in order to enter kindergarten, be at least 5 years of age on July 31 of the same year (beginning with the 2014-15 school year). This will result in Hawai‘i joining the rest of the nation in starting kindergarten at age 5.
Furthermore, the Executive Office on Early Learning will be responsible for developing an implementation plan for an early learning program, targeting late-born 5-year-olds and 4-year-olds. This plan is due to the Legislature 20 days prior to the start of the 2013 legislative session. The vision is to have a universal network of child care and preschool support for every 4-year-old in the state.
A strong foundation for learning, set at this important stage in child development, will be an asset that each keiki will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Investing in the next generation is the wisest decision that we can make as a people, and this measure makes such an investment.
But our successes in furthering education were not limited to early learning.
On July 10, I signed House Bill 2626 into law to permanently establish the Safe Routes to School program within the Department of Transportation. Kaua‘i can be proud to have led the state in implementing Safe Routes to School elements, just as it has been at the forefront of utilizing alternative energy in public schools (installation of photovoltaic systems at 15 Kaua‘i schools is under way, helping to fulfill Hawai‘i’s goal of 70 percent clean energy by 2030.)
In addition, Hawai’i’s inaugural appointed Board of Education (BOE) last month released its first-year Report on Public Education, outlining a list of innovative action focused on improving Hawai‘i student achievement, service support improvements and staff development. Its nine members, including Kaua‘i’s Nancy Budd, each serve the state on a volunteer basis, as do its one student and one military ex-officio members.
The first-year report clearly showed that this dedicated board came in a year ago with a clear mission on improving our public schools and have since not hesitated to make necessary changes. One of the most notable changes was the BOE’s adoption of policies for teacher and principal evaluations that include student performance measurements and future changes to tenure, as well as improved professional support.
New online tools were deployed for teachers and administrators to track student progress, enabling better informed instruction and school planning, aiding in the identification of students for interventions, and holding relevant parties accountability. And, new graduation requirements were adopted to ensure that students are prepared for success after high school in their choice of college or careers. These new requirements are nationally and internationally competitive and will begin with the state’s incoming ninth-graders.
These tangible accomplishments in just one year are truly reflective of a “new day” for education throughout our entire state. It is deeply encouraging to see Legislature and BOE’s commitment to improving our statewide education system result in real progress, with more positive changes to come.
• Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s column runs on the third Sunday of every month.
