Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 11, 1 November 1987 — Panel Approves $27.4 Million for Native Hawaiian Education Bill [ARTICLE]

Panel Approves $27.4 Million for Native Hawaiian Education Bill

Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resourceson Oct. 14unanimously approved an amendment, offered by Senator Spark Matsunaga (D-Hawaii), providing for afive-year, $27.4 million program to enhanee educational opportunities for Native Hawaiian children. Matsunaga, a member of the committee, said the committee voted to include the Native Hawaiian Education Program in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Amendments of 1987, whieh virtually assures final passage by the full Senate.

Matsunaga said that under the legislation federal funds would finance the use of the Kamehameha Elementary Education Program, a model curriculum for Native Hawaiian children, in selected public schools with high Hawaiian enrollment. The money would be used to train teachers, pay for support services and continued research and development of better programs for this purpose. The Senate bill would also provide funds for familybased early childhood educational programs and special help for Hawaiian children with learning disabiiities or other handicaps.

The program also includes two important demonstration programs: First, a program to meet the needs of gifted and talented children and second, a program whieh would provide fellowships to Native Hawaiian children who wish to pursue higher education or advanced degrees. "This has been a 10-year effort to get this program through," Matsunaga said. "Given the unanimous acceptance of this measure, it is safe to say that money for these much-needed programs will be available next year." Matsunaga chaired an Education Subcommittee hearing on Chapters 1 and 2 of the education amend-

ments in Honolulu last May. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides supplemental education programs for disadvantaged children and encourages educational improvement and innovation by authorizing more than $7 billion annually for programs nationwide.