Hawaii State Department Of Education

Hawaii State Department Of Education, operating through its Office of Fiscal Services Division and Office of the Superintendent, is a U.S. state government entity that receives and administers federal grant funding as a prime recipient across K-12 education, child nutrition, special education, and workforce development programs. The department serves as a pass-through entity, sub-awarding portions of federal grants to local school districts, charter schools, community organizations, universities including the University of Hawaii, and nonprofit partners to implement direct educational services across approximately 256 schools serving roughly 180,000 students statewide. It operates as a subsidiary of the State of Hawaii, with the Executive Office On Early Learning as a named sibling agency within the corporate structure.

The department's federal grant portfolio centers on U.S. Department of Education programs. The Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education dominates the award count at 331 awards, followed by the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service at 100 and 81 separate awards, and the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families at 72 awards. Combined, these top four customer agencies account for 79 percent of recent awards. By potential value, the Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences leads with 9 awards totaling 7 million dollars combined potential value, though the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education's volume across formula and project grants anchors most of the department's grant footprint in dollar magnitude.

Recent named work spans education services coordination and child nutrition. On April 1, 2025, the Institute of Education Sciences awarded the department a 2.397 million dollar firm fixed-price definitive contract running through March 31, 2035, to serve as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) state coordinator, facilitating assessments, analyzing data, and collaborating with federal and state partners on behalf of the National Center for Education Statistics State Partnership System. The Department of Defense Education Activity awarded 5.028 million dollars on July 30, 2026, under the Competitive Grants: Promoting K-12 Student Achievement at Military-Connected Schools program (CFDA 12.556) to modernize military-connected school facilities in Hawaii through July 29, 2031. The Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education awarded 26.986 million dollars under Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies (CFDA 84.010) on July 1, 2026, for the period ending September 30, 2027, to support improved teaching and learning in high-poverty schools. The Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service awarded 83.584 million dollars on October 1, 2025, under the National School Lunch Program (CFDA 10.555) to provide cash subsidies and USDA Foods to schools across the state through September 30, 2026. Additional work includes 16.864 million dollars in Special Education Grants to States (CFDA 84.027), 6.693 million dollars in Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (CFDA 84.424), 6.548 million dollars in Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers (CFDA 84.287), and 3.807 million dollars in Grants for State Assessments and Related Activities (CFDA 84.369), all awarded July 1, 2026, by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The department's sub-award footprint reveals pass-through relationships with local educational agencies, charter schools, and community partners. Named sub-awardees include Connections Public Charter School, Waialae Public Charter School, Volcano School of Arts and Sciences, Laupahoehoe Community Public Charter School, Hawaii Academy of Arts and Science, and nonprofit organizations including Hookakoo Corp, Child and Family Service, Honolulu Community Action Program, Young Men's Christian Association of Honolulu, Maui Economic Opportunity Inc., and Parents and Children Together. Federal pass-through sub-awards flow to the University of Hawaii under GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) and Preschool Development Grants Birth to Five programs. The department also receives sub-awards from the Hawaii Department of Defense for school facilities recovery, from the Department of Human Services Hawaii for teen pregnancy prevention programming, and from the State of Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations for apprenticeship expansion initiatives.

Activity has grown from 34 awards in 2022 to a peak of 101 in 2024, with 42 awards in 2025 and 21 awards year-to-date in 2026. Twenty-two awards carrying combined potential value across 7.6 million dollars face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing recompete exposure. The department holds 85 percent of awards as prime recipient and 15 percent as sub-recipient, with the vast majority of federal funding flowing through formula grant mechanisms anchored by Title I, Special Education, child nutrition, and English language acquisition programs serving Hawaii's eligible student populations under federal statutory formulas. No parent contract vehicles (GWACs, IDIQs, or agency-wide BPAs) are present in the source; the department's federal footprint is entirely grant-based.