The state could see an increase in the availability of early learning programs by taking advantage of vacant public spaces beyond the state Department of Education public school campuses.

Gov. Josh Green signed several education-related bills into law on Monday that will impact educators, keiki and facilities throughout the state.

A series of bills signed into law on Monday looks to push Hawai’i further toward the goal of accessible education for early learners.

Gov. Josh Green has signed House Bill 961 into law. The measure extends the state’s Open Doors Preschool program to 3-year-olds, appropriates funds for the program, expands accreditation opportunities, and authorizes the acceptance of federal funds.

Act 46, which was passed in 2020, set a goal to expand preschool access to all 3- and 4-year-olds statewide by the year 2032. Through Lt. Gov. Syliva Luke’s Ready Keiki initiative, hundreds of millions of dollars have already been allocated to building more pre-K classrooms and expanding access to education.

Measures giving the state’s new School Facilities Authority access to millions more dollars and dramatically broader flexibility to build teacher housing and preschool classrooms were among a group of education-related bills signed into law by Gov. Josh Green in a ceremony Monday.

The governor signed four new education measures into law Monday, including one aimed at bolstering affordable housing for teachers.

The new affordable teacher housing is designed to aid in recruiting and retaining educators to work in Hawaii’s public school system amid an ongoing teacher shortage.

At the Royal Elementary School library in Honolulu on Monday, Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green signed into law four education and early-education bills that include housing for teachers.

“We need 1,200 teachers to fill our annual teacher shortage,” Green said while signing SB941 (Act 172). It authorizes the School Facilities Authority to partner with public and private agencies to develop housing on- or off-campus for teachers, other educators and staff, and to develop classrooms.

I’m going to do something that’s not often done around here: I’m going to praise state legislators.

Specifically, I’m praising Hawaii’s representatives and senators for passing HB 961, which allocated $39 million for the state’s Open Doors Preschool program. The funding will be used to expand pre-K opportunities for 3- and 4-year-olds.

A bill to greatly expand access to preschool for Hawaii children by making more and larger state subsidies available, and by allowing families with children as young as 3 to apply, has passed its last major hurdle at the state Legislature.

House Bill 961, Conference Draft 1 — a key component of the Ready Keiki initiative led by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke to expand preschool access for all Hawaii 3- and 4-year-olds by 2032 — was passed unanimously Wednesday by House and Senate conferees.

Measures to usher in universal preschool access have passed through conference committee at the state Legislature.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke has been working on an initiative called Ready Keiki, which has a goal to expand early childhood education and care in the next decade.

House Bill 961 increases financial assistance through the Preschool Open Doors program, by expanding subsidy eligibility to include 3-year-old children in fall 2024.

The decision raises hopes that Hawaii can boost the number of children participating in the Open Doors program from about 1,200 to about 4,000.

Proposals to increase preschool attendance and stabilize child care centers are receiving the most attention in this legislative session.