Hawai‘i Public Schools To Receive More Than $73 Million To Provide Extra Academic Support For Students In Low-Income Communities

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) announced that Hawai‘i K-12 schools will receive a projected $73 million in new federal funding for the 2023-2024 school year. The new funding will be used to hire more educators, and support teacher professional development, new technology, and other academic programs at public schools serving students in low-income areas. These funds will be given directly to Title I schools – where a disproportionate number of students live in poverty – and will benefit nearly 85,000 students in Hawai‘i.

“Hawai‘i public schools are getting a big boost in federal funding,” said Senator Schatz, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “This new money will help hire more teachers and offer more academic support programs for students in need.”

Authorized under Title I Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title I funding is the largest source of federal funding for elementary and secondary education in the country. The grants provide financial assistance to school districts for services that improve the teaching and learning of children at risk of not meeting academic achievement requirements. Based on a variety of factors such as per-pupil expenditures, poverty, and population estimates, Title I Grants are targeted to help students who reside in high concentration areas of children from low-income families. Hawai‘i’s local education agencies expect to receive these funds by July 1, 2023.

In the Senate, Schatz led efforts to increase funding for public schools in Hawai‘i and across the country. The new funding for Hawai‘i is an increase of nearly $15 million from the 2022-2023 school year. The counties and grant fund amounts are as follows:

• $3,107,773 for the County of Kaua‘i
• $46,760,813 for the City and County of Honolulu
• $7,408,395 for the County of Maui
• $15,853,286 for the County of Hawai‘i

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