Senator Hirono Hosts K-12 Education Spotlight Forum

On Thursday, Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) hosted a forum, “Robbing Our Students’ Futures: The Indefensible Attacks on Public Education,” which modeled the format of a hearing. In an opening statement, Hirono discussed how actions taken by the current administration are negatively impacting K-12 schools, students, and educators. Referencing the Office of Management and Budget’s current withholding of more than $5 billion in education funds, she remarked, “Millions of dollars are at stake, including over $300 million for Hawaii alone... Millions of children and their families are relying upon all of us to get out of our silos and work together to stop these dangerous actions.”

Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers, Princess Moss, VP, National Education Association, Denise Forte, CEO, The Education Trust, Aaron Philip Dworkin, CEO, National Summer Learning Association, and Dr. Jacqueline Rodriguez, CEO, National Center for Learning Disabilities, engaged with Senators on a wide range of topics within education. Rodriguez emphasized that the current withholding of education funds is impacting tens of millions of K-12 and adult learners, many of whom have disabilities, and is “sabotaging student learning, educator preparedness, and essential services, causing heavy impacts on those students with disabilities.” The forum is one in a series that Hirono has organized to spotlight and challenge the current administration. 

View the forum here.