Legislative leaders strongly back LG Luke’s preschool expansion plans

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke’s plans to massively expand access to preschool across Hawaiʻi received a ringing endorsement from the state Senate president during the Legislature’s opening ceremonies Wednesday, a day after numerous legislative leaders voiced support for the historic effort.

Luke outlined her plans Tuesday to make preschool available to all 3- and 4-year-olds across Hawaiʻi by 2032.

“I’m fully supportive of the lieutenant governor’s plan, and she can count on my support,” said Senate President Ron Kouchi during a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday, the first day of this year’s legislative session.

“This is going to be great for the kids of Hawaiʻi,” Kouchi added.

Luke, who has been tasked by Gov. Josh Green to lead the state’s pre-K efforts, was joined by numerous community and legislative leaders Tuesday at a news conference to unveil the plan.

She said only half of Hawaiʻi’s 35,000 3- and 4-year-olds attend preschool, either by paying expensive tuition for private schools or obtaining one of the few spots in publicly funded pre-K programs.

The state estimates there are about 9,200 children whose parents want to, but aren’t able to, send them to preschool. Its plans are aimed at that group.
The cost of early child care and preschool “should not be an obstacle to giving your child a fair start and ability to compete on equal ground,” Kouchi said.

“The added benefit is relieving those families of the cost of child care, and we want to make sure that we can put more money into the pockets of the working men and women of Hawaiʻi,” he added.

Luke said Tuesday, “This is decades in the works. This is an important part that will not just be important for preschoolers, but working families as well.”

Luke’s efforts have been endorsed by other key legislative leaders, indicating strong support from her former colleagues. She served in the state House for 23 years before being elected lieutenant governor last year.

Joining Luke at Tuesday’s news conference, Senate Education Chair Michelle Kidani said, “We also have to realize that many of our young families leave the islands because they can’t afford to have their children in preschool or day care, and so I’m really excited about this next step that we’re taking.”

House Education Chair Justin Woodson told reporters at the news conference that research is clear about the benefits of early pre-K.

“Those who attend a high-quality early learning setting are more likely to succeed in primary school and beyond. This leads to healthier communities, and this is true in every sense of the word,” Woodson said.

Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association President Osa Tui, Jr. said, “Preschool is important to get students ready for success in kindergarten. The HSTA wants to ensure that as much of our public taxpayer money is going to public facilities, public teachers, and public schools as possible.”

Tui said he and his two siblings benefited from a free Head Start preschool program decades ago at Enchanted Lake Elementary as children. But Tui noted that thousands of other families not on welfare cannot qualify for free programs today.

The state plans to have 80 new early education classrooms ready for use in 2024, each serving 20 students.

Hawaiʻi has already identified 50 classrooms at existing public elementary schools and 30 in publicly funded charter schools that it can renovate for use. Luke said converting one existing classroom would cost about $1 million because new bathrooms, sinks, chairs and tables need to be installed for smaller children. That’s cheaper than creating new preschool classrooms from scratch, which would cost about $2 million each.

The state will draw on $200 million the Legislature appropriated last year to build preschool classrooms.

Senate president spotlights advocacy work of ʻIlima Intermediate teacher

During his opening day legislative address, Kouchi told the audience, “I met an incredible woman last year,” as he introduced ʻIlima Intermediate School teacher Sarah “Mili” Milianta-Laffin to the crowd.

Milianta-Laffin championed legislation last session to end period poverty in public schools, making Hawaiʻi the sixth state to offer free menstrual products available to all students.

Last year, Kouchi said he “‘found out that Sarah, ‘Mili,’ and her students had submitted legislation two years prior, and with COVID and no money, never got a hearing on their bill. Reintroduced it again the next year, and with the financial uncertainty of COVID, never got a hearing on their bill.

“So they decided in the third year (2022) to introduce their bill again,” Kouchi said. “And as the hearings were held, they came out with students to the Capitol and testified, and at the end of the day, (the Legislature appropriated) $2 million so that we would have period products available in all of the schools in the state of Hawaiʻi.

“But the more important thing was that they were having the young boys and girls having the conversation in school about biology and normal human functions about both males and females,” the Senate president said.

And now, “they have dispensers out in the open, so that there’s no shame in coming to get any period products if you need them,” Kochi said. “A key mission was to normalize the conversation, and it was amazing to me how they hit the tipping point and became the buzz of the last Legislature.”

As he followed her on social media, Kouchi said he realized she is a nationally recognized teacher and leader in many other areas.

Related post: ʻIlima Intermediate teacher earns national human and civil rights award

“When we talk about the public school education that our children are getting here in Hawaiʻi, It’s people like Sarah that are making a difference in the lives of our children,” Kouchi said as he asked her to stand up and be recognized by members of the Senate, their families, guests, staff and others.

Milianta-Laffin said it was an honor to be invited by the Senate president to attend opening day ceremonies.

“My students made a giant red-glitter blood drop for Senator Kouchi last year to applaud him for being a ‘non-bleeding ally’ (someone who doesn’t menstruate but supports menstruating people). For my students, Kouchi modeled what we want our students to see, leadership and lifelong learning. When he learned about period poverty in schools, he acted to support our bill for free period products in all public schools,” Milianta-Laffin said.

“The new law, which took effect July 1, 2022, will change the way that generations of students will now be able to handle menstruation at school,” she added.