Hawaii Early Learning Board

Infrastructure to Support Early Childhood Systems

  • Data Systems

Hawaii

In 2017, Hawaii converted its early childhood advisory council to an advisory board, the Early Learning Board (ELB). ELB was established through Act 202 and is tasked with formulating statewide policy relating to early learning. It directs the Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL) on how to best meet the developmental and educational needs of children; provides recommendations to EOEL on improving the quality, availability, and coordination of early learning programs; promotes collaboration across agencies and stakeholders serving young children; and appoints the EOEL director and evaluating the director on an annual basis. The ELB advises the governor and makes recommendations to the legislature.

Sources:
Education Commission of the States, 2021
Hawaii Executive Office on Early Learning (2023). 2023 Legislative Updates
Education Commission of the States, (2018). Education Governance Dashboard 

Connections to Key Early Learning Study at Harvard (ELS@H) Findings:

Strong infrastructure and systems – including governance structures and data systems – are key aspects of high-quality early education and care. And research suggests there is a need for more accessible, affordable, and high-quality early education within a mixed-delivery system; strengthening infrastructure and systems is one important way states and cities can take action to address these needs and accomplish these goals.

Findings from the Early Learning Study at Harvard (ELS@H) that connect to the need for more robust infrastructure and systems, including data systems:

  • Families rely on a range of formal (e.g., Head Start, center-based care, public pre-K) and more informal (e.g., home-based, relative care) early education settings; when choosing a setting for their child, families balance many logistical constraints and personal preferences.
  • But for many families – and especially low- and middle-income families – early education choices remain tightly constrained due to issues of affordability and supply.
  • No one early education setting type is inherently of higher quality than another; children develop and learn well in every setting type, and in the study, all setting types showed room to grow in quality.
  • We have learned a great deal from this groundbreaking, large-scale study. Nevertheless, there is still much to learn about what children, families, and educators need, and about what “works” – for whom and under what circumstances – across all the diverse settings where young children learn and grow.
Learn More about ELS@H Findings

Learn more about Hawaii

Context matters. Visit the Hawaii profile page to learn more about its demographics, political landscape, early education programs, early education workforce, and funding sources and streams.

Visit the Hawaii Profile Here
  • The state population is 1,440,196
  • The percentage of children under 6 with all available parents in the workforce is 64%
  • The rural percentage is 13.9%