Education currently carries suggested benchmarks for each educational grade and subject which are available on its website. However, a law creating a standard state public school curriculum, the first of its kind in Hawaii, did not pass during the 2006 legislative session. Relevant debates Probably the most current and controversial debate over Hawaii school reform has to do with the structure of the State Department of Education: specifically, whether it should remain centralized or be broken into smaller districts. The main rationale usually given for the current centralized model is equity in distribution of resources: all schools are theoretically funded from the same pool of money on an equitable basis. (Most schools on the U.S. Mainland are organized into school districts funded from local property taxes; thus more affluent school districts theoretically receive more money and resources than less affluent areas.) Supporters of decentralization see it as a means of moving decision-making closer to the classroom, and thus achieving better student performance. The debate divides roughly along party lines, with Republicans generally supporting decentralization and the Democrats supporting the centralized status quo. In 2002, Republican Governor Linda Lingle ran on a campaign to reorganize the Hawaii State Department of Education into smaller school districts that were localed modeled after a system found in Canada. The Democrat-controlled Hawaii State Legislature, however, voted not to enact this plan in 2003 and 2004. In October 2009, the Hawaii Department of Education agreed to a furlough program for Hawaii's public schools that reduced the number of instructional days by 17 days to a total of 163 days. This is the smallest number of instructional days anywhere in the United States. Structure The state-wide system is divided into seven Districts; each District subdivided into Complex Areas; each Complex Area includes at least one Complex; and each Complex comprises high schools and the middle and elementary schools that feed into them. These are: Honolulu District: Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani and Kaimuki-McKinley-Roosevelt Complex Areas. Central District: Aiea-Moanalua-Radford and Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua Complex Areas. Leeward District: Campbell-Kapolei, Pearl City-Waipahu, and Nanakuli-Waianae Complex Areas. Windward District: Castle-Kahuku and Kailua-Kalaheo Complex Areas. Hawaii District: Hilo-Waiakea, Kau-Keaau-Pahoa, and Honokaa-Kealakehe-Kohala-Konawaena Complex Areas. Maui District: Baldwin-Kekaulike-Maui and Hana-Lahainaluna-Lanai-Molokai Complex Areas. Kauai District: Kapaa-Kauai-Waimea Complex Area Schools Public high schools Public middle schools Public elementary schools See also State education agency Hawaii State Student Council References External links Hawaii State Department of Education Native Hawaiian Education Council Hawaii Official