Hundreds of people from all over the state gathered at the state Capitol on Wednesday for the opening day of the 2024 legislative session to advocate for issues, including increasing funds for Hawaiian immersion schools, paid family leave, better overall health care and improving the lives of unionized workers across the state.

Groups came to the rotunda level of the Capitol, united in color-coded and customized tops to fight for their causes.

Some waved flags and some carried signs, most of them written by hand.

Alapa‘i Kaulia, secondary student activity coordinator at the Hawaiian immersion state Department of Education school Ke Kula ‘O ‘Ehunuikaimalino in Kealakekua, flew into Honolulu on Tuesday to witness the opening day of the state Legislature to advocate for more DOE funding to accommodate for growing enrollment at his school and others like it.

The group’s trip to Oahu was funded through campaigns organized by Ke Kula ‘O ‘Ehunuikaimalino’s leadership and broadcast media class students, who also arrived to see the opening day of the Legislature and landmarks including Iolani Palace and Bishop Museum.

Ke Kula ‘O ‘Ehunuikaimalino represents the only state DOE K-12 Hawaiian immersion school on Hawaii island, Kaulia said.

The visiting students came to see firsthand how government officials interact at the Capitol with Native Hawaiians like them and how they fit into Hawaii’s political system.

He said that Ke Kula ‘O ‘Ehunuikaimalino has secured $2.1 million, but wants to push legislators this session for more DOE funding for schools like itself to expand both space and staff. The school currently has 264 students, 19 teachers and a total of 16 classrooms.

“We have two buildings that’s over a century old and termite eaten,” Kaulia said. “These buildings were the housing for the Konawaena School staff back in the days but are now classrooms.”

He said that the school has a total of four classrooms in those buildings and the other 12 classes are are held in portable units.

DOE policies prohibit capping enrollment, Kaulia said.

As a result, Ke Kula ‘O ‘Ehunuikaimalino would have to somehow limit enrollment to combine two grades into one classroom, according to Kaulia.

Representatives of the nonprofit Hawaii Children’s Action Network showed up at the Capitol on Wednesday to advocate for “diversity, equity and inclusion of all of Hawaii’s keiki and families,” said Mai Hall, children’s health coordinator at HCAN.

HCAN wants more paid family and medical leave, child care subsidies and health and wellness initiatives for Hawaii’s keiki.

“We would really like to pass paid family leave this year because we believe it’s something that Hawaii desperately needs to keep and retain an attractive workforce to support families,” Hall said.

Hall hopes to work with state officials, including state Sen. Joy San Buenaventura (D, Puna), state Rep. Nadine Nakamura (D, Hanalei-­Princeville-Kapaa) and new state Rep. May Mizuno (D, Kamehameha Heights-Kalihi Valley) for better health care.

Kalani Warner — spokesperson for Hawaii’s second-largest public employee union, United Public Workers Hawaii — came to the Capitol with almost 100 UPW unionized employees to advocate for “the 13,000 families that we represent.”

Warner wanted to remind legislators that they helped put into office to hold them accountable, he said.

“It’s important that everybody out there gets out and registers to vote and be a part of the democratic process,” Warner said.

Lahaina Strong showed up with a list of five demands, which essentially boiled down to restoring housing and transforming Maui’s economy in the process, following the Aug. 8 wildfires that killed at least 100 people and destroyed 3,000 structures, most of them homes.

“For our economy to get back to any sort of stability, we need housing,” said Maui resident Katie Austin, who lost her restaurant job to the fires.

State Sen. Angus McKelvey (D, West Maui-Maalaea-South Maui) lost his own home in the Lahaina wildfire, and rallied with Lahaina Strong on Wednesday.

McKelvey said that there are no easy answers to rebuilding Lahaina.

“It’s time for us to effectuate these demands and goals into legislation,” he said.