Bill Text: HI SR49 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Urging The Executive Office On Early Learning To Examine And Consider A Sliding Scale Tuition Or Fee Schedule For State Pre-kindergarten Programs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-04-12 - Report and Resolution Adopted. [SR49 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-SR49-Introduced.html

THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

49

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

Urging the executive office on early learning to examine and consider a sliding scale tuition or fee schedule for state pre-kindergarten programs.

 

 


     WHEREAS, it is essential that Hawaii's children attend pre-kindergarten programs to develop the physical, cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional skills necessary to prepare them for success in school life; and

 

     WHEREAS, however, Hawaii has one of the highest costs for child care in the nation; and

 

     WHEREAS, the annual tuition cost of many child care facilities in Hawaii exceeds the annual in-state tuition at the University of Hawaii at Manoa; and

 

     WHEREAS, in many cases, the costs for child care for two children are as much as one full-time working parent would make in a year after taxes; and

 

     WHEREAS, not surprisingly, in many families, one parent will leave the workforce to care for their children on a full-time basis, instead of enrolling the children in child care; and

 

     WHEREAS, the past decade has seen a substantial increase in public investment in early learning programs by federal, state, and local governments, particularly for economically disadvantaged children; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii launched the Executive Office on Early Learning public pre-kindergarten program in the 2014-2015 school year in twenty classrooms at eighteen schools statewide; and

 

     WHEREAS, additionally, the preschool open doors program, which is administered by the Department of Human Services, promotes school readiness by providing child care subsidies to eligible families for the year prior to kindergarten; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Executive Office on Early Learning public pre-kindergarten program and preschool open doors program serve families earning three hundred percent or below and two hundred fifty percent or below of the federal poverty guidelines for Hawaii, respectively; and

 

     WHEREAS, with the State's commitment to early childhood education through the Early Childhood State Plan 2019-2024, there will be greater access to early childhood education for more families, resulting in some households who will be able to pay for some of the costs associated with pre-kindergarten education; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that the Executive Office on Early Learning is urged to examine and consider a sliding scale tuition or fee schedule for State pre-kindergarten programs; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Executive Office on Early Learning.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Executive Office on Early Learning; Pre-kindergarten Education

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