Gov. Josh Green signed three bills Friday afternoon to support healthier keiki through better access to food, transportation and surfing programs in schools.
First Lady Jamie Kanani Green introduced the first measure of the day, Senate Bill 1300, which will give children from financially challenged families more access to school meals. She needed to briefly pause to hold back tears after announcing that, beginning in the upcoming school year, “those children whose families are eligible for reduced lunch will not have to pay.”
“If students aren’t hungry, they can better focus on their studies, extra-curricular activities, and personal growth,” Jamie Green said, thanking community advocates, the Department of Education superintendent, and legislative leaders for working together to make the bill come to fruition. “In a time when there are so many competing interests, I really appreciate that you guys have prioritized our children and feeding our children.”
The bill — which goes into effect on July 1 and was authored by Senate Vice President Michelle Kidani — gives free school meals throughout the 2025-2026 school year to children who qualify for reduced-price lunches under the National School Lunch Program.
For the 2026-2027 school year, the bill’s effect will expand further to offer free school meals to all families classified as ALICE (asset limited, income restrained, employed) whose income is below 300% of the federal poverty level.
More than $3.3 million in state funds will be allocated to the Department of Education over the two years to cover the free meals, helping about 15,000 children access lunch at school, Gov. Green said at the bill’s signing.
“Students should come to class hungry for knowledge, not hungry for food,” he said, elaborating that he hopes to expand the bill’s reach even further over the next five years. “Ultimately, we’re hopeful that we will get to universal school meals for every public school child — no forms, no qualifications, no stigma, just good nutritious food so that our children can really thrive as they go through our school doors.”
When Green signed the bill providing more free food in schools, he dedicated it to his wife.
The second bill signed Friday was House Bill 862, which aims to tackle a lack of school bus drivers, which caused over 70 school bus routes statewide to be suspended in August 2024. At that time, Green signed an emergency proclamation to solve the problem by allowing keiki to be transported on a variety of vehicles by drivers with varying licenses.
The bill he signed Friday codifies that authorization into law, and requires DOE staff to accompany students from pick-up to drop-off to ensure their safety as they commute to school via alternatives like small busses, motorcoaches and vans traveling on existing bus routes. It also expands the department’s options to secure reliable transportation.
The measure goes into effect immediately.
“This is a common-sense solution in this bill,” Green said, noting his familiarity with challenges facing rural families based on his previous work as a physician in Ka‘u. “It’s really about flexibility so our kids don’t get stranded. So now they’ll get to school, they’re gonna get meals, and they’re gonna go into successful careers because they’re going to have a better experience in our public schools.”
The final bill signed, HB 133, authored by state Rep. Sean Quinlan of Oahu, funds interscholastic surfing programs in schools to give more children access to the sport Hawaii is known for and which provides health benefits to young people, both physically and emotionally.
Though the state’s Board of Education certified surfing for interscholastic competition in 2016, only 1 in 5 local athletic leagues has sponsored a surfing program for students, according to the governor’s office.
The bill Green signed Friday appropriates $685,870 for both of the fiscal years of 2026 and 2027 to support the development of interscholastic surfing programs.
“We can’t step away from what is valuable for so many of our people. This is what the Legislature sees from their communities and what they want,” Green said. “Surfing is Hawaii: It is a way for us to express our culture and value our beautiful land.”
The funding provided by the bill will cover food and travel between schools as children engage in competitive surf programs, Green said, adding that, “we’re calling on more athletic leagues to join in and make sure our keiki ride the waves.”
Email Kyveli Diener at kdiener@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
