Hawaiian language immersion education is getting a boost in funding to create new positions for kaiapuni teachers and curriculum specialists with the state Department of Education.
Gov. Josh Green signed off on a measure to appropriate $3.5 million to hire 10 kaiapuni teachers and three curriculum specialists.
The measure also mandates the DOE develop a strategic plan for kaiapuni education to monitor the academic success of approximately 1,400 students in the program. The kaiapuni program has seen a 60% increase in enrollment in recent years.
"I want to express our gratitude and appreciation for the support of HB 2074, which provides much-needed resources to our kula kaiapuni and the growth that we're experiencing," said Kaʻiu Kimura, director of the College of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.
"In 2019, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court affirmed through Article 10, Section 4 of Hawaiʻi’s state Constitution that imposes a duty on the state to provide for educational programming focused on the revival of our language," she said.
HB 2074 was one of 13 bills recently signed into law by Green, marking his renewed commitment to the Native Hawaiian people.
"As we continue these revitalization efforts, accomplishing our goal of a living language here in Hawaiʻi, its native language, this will depend on the contribution of many and particularly those of you here in these halls at our state government," Kimura continued.
Other key bills signed into law help strengthen Native Hawaiian housing, promote sustainable tourism, and better protect Native Hawaiian burial sites.
