Lawmakers approve millions in new funding for schools, education bills

Besides approving a state budget Tuesday that includes more than $164 million to end salary compression for experienced educators, fund shortage differentials, and restore paid job-embedded professional development for all teachers, legislators are giving final approval this week to other bills and budget items that will help educators and the students they teach.

Here’s a summary of key bills expected to be approved this week before this year’s legislative session ends May 5:

HB2000 Constructs, renovates pre-kindergarten facilities

Appropriates $200 million to the School Facilities Authority to construct new preschool facilities across the state. The money will also pay for the renovation, improvement, and expansion of existing school facilities to increase pre-kindergarten student capacity, with the goal of creating 150 new preschool classrooms.

SB2862 Installs air conditioning in classrooms that have no AC

Appropriates $10 million to the Department of Education to install air conditioning units in public school classrooms that have not received air conditioning units.

Learn more: Lawmakers give initial OK for more public school AC funding

SB2821 Provides free menstrual products to students

Appropriates $2 million and requires the Department of Education to provide menstrual products free of charge to all students on all public school campuses. Requires the State Public Charter School Commission to provide free menstrual products to all students on all public charter school campuses. If this bill becomes law, Hawaii would become the sixth state in the country with such a requirement.

Learn more: Menstrual equity bill passes House Education Committee

SB2893 Establishes school supply subsidies for Title I schools

Establishes a one-year school supply subsidy pilot program at all schools composed entirely of students eligible for participation in Title I, Part A, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act. Appropriates $806,000.

SB3098 Funds lead abatement needed in schools

Makes an emergency appropriation of $1.8 million for lead abatement measures at Department of Education elementary schools.

HB1848 Supports student journalism freedom of the press

Establishes freedom of speech and freedom of the press protections for student journalists producing school-sponsored media or university-sponsored media unless subject to certain exceptions. Provides legal immunity for state agencies, officers, and employees for students’ exercise of these freedoms. Both houses approved this measure and it was transmitted to the governor on April 22.

Learn more: House committee advances measure to establish First Amendment protections for student journalists

HB1561 Establishes workforce readiness program

Establishes within the Department of Education a workforce readiness program to provide opportunities for students to earn associate degrees, workforce development diplomas, pre-apprenticeship certificates, and other industry-recognized certificates. Requires the department to designate schools, including adult community schools, to participate in the program.

SB514 Provides a tax refund to all state taxpayers

Approves $300 rebates for taxpayers who earn less than $100,000 a year and $100 for those who earn more than that. Those rebates apply to dependents, so a family of four with each person earning less than $100,000 a year could receive a total of $1,200. The bill also sets aside $500 million in the state’s emergency fund and $300 million in the state’s pension fund.

HB2510 Raises the minimum wage to $18 by 2028

Increases the state’s $10.10-an-hour minimum wage incrementally to $12 per hour beginning Oct. 1, $14 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2024; and $16 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2026 and $18 per hour in 2028. Hawaii last increased its minimum wage in 2018. The bill also makes the state’s earned income tax credit, which was set to expire at the end of this year, refundable and permanent. House and Senate conferees approved the compromise Friday and both houses will vote on the measure this week.

Budget includes money for new classrooms statewide, school nurses, more

Lawmakers in the state Senate and House Tuesday approved a state budget proposal that includes additional or new funding for the following public-school and library initiatives:

• $6.3 million to furnish and equip new classrooms across the state
• $2.8 million to add 21 positions to establish a new nursing section to coordinate and provide clinical supervision for schools
• $1.1 million to increase complex area administration program for classroom supplies, instructional materials, materials and resources for professional learning communities and technology to provide equity to access to students
• $1 million to make the pilot special education teacher mentor program permanent
• $1 million to deploy sensor network in air-conditioned classrooms to optimize classroom air conditioning.
• $600,000 for Grow Your Own teacher stipends
• $332,000 for two positions for Hawaii State Teacher Fellows Program which looks to build and empower teacher voices and perspectives
• $118,000 for one position for an alternative learning center in Nanakuli-Waianae
• $98,000 for one position for charter schools to ensure civil rights compliance
• $1 million to install security cameras at 11 libraries
• $750,000 for public libraries to purchase digital and physical materials
• $3 million to convert 40-year-old barcode system to RFID technology for libraries
• Positions and $200,000 for workforce development coordination at McKinley and Waipahu School for Adults

The budget and other proposals now go to Gov. David Ige who must sign the bills, let them become law without his signature or veto them.