HONOLULU, Hawai‘i - Senator Michelle Kidani has been appointed to the Steering Committee of the Education Commission of the States (ECS). Her nomination was approved at the ECS Winter Commissioners Meeting in Denver this week. As a member of the Steering committee, she will serve as the leader of Hawai‘i’s ECS membership team that includes other state lawmakers, the Department of Education, the University of Hawai‘i, and other executive branch representatives.
The ECS was created in 1965 as a national-level partner with the 50 states to provide research and in-depth reports on state policy issues. “As chair of the Senate’s Committee on Education, I have been active with ECS for some time, and it’s an honor to now serve on the Steering Committee,” Senator Kidani said. “It is vital that Hawai‘i’s voice be heard in a national forum such as ECS which has the ability to influence the nation’s education policies. This is especially important when there are uncertainties about federal support for our public schools under the current administration.”
Senator Kidani is Vice President of the Senate, Chair of the Committee on Education, and a member of the Committee on Ways and Means. She was first elected in 2008, and currently represents Senate District 18 which includes Mililani Town, a portion of Waipi‘o Gentry, and the Waipahu area neighborhoods of Royal Kunia, Village Park and Waikele.
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