If Hawaii leaders are as concerned as they should be about the public school children who have lost ground in their education, the time to do something about it is nearly at hand.

Summer school.

After the past year spent principally in remote learning, Hawaii’s students are not faring very well. A report released in February showed 21% well below proficiency in English and 15% behind in math in the first semester of the current academic year. About 12% of high schoolers got failing grades in either English or math, in addition to 10% failing science or social studies.

Those are alarming data points, impossible to dismiss. Fortunately, due to substantial allotments of federal aid through the American Rescue Plan, Hawaii and other states will have the resources to make headway on the daunting task of getting kids back up to speed.

The question is, will Hawaii have plans in place in time to deliver the programs in an effective way? And will the Legislature refrain from heavy-handed attempts to exert control over the state Department of Education in carrying out those plans?

Gov. David Ige must send a strong signal from the very top that the DOE will roll out a comprehensive program of remedial education that is so crucial to see that children’s learning losses do not calcify into lasting scars.

And part of that signal should be to urge lawmakers to spike House Bill 613.

The bill, which now is headed to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, would require the school board and the superintendent to commit in writing to conditions on previously allocated federal pandemic relief aid.

One proposed bill condition: that the funds be used only for “officers and employees who are subject to a collective bargaining agreement and are employed at the school level in the classroom.” Union employees of the school system had lobbied strenuously for this constraint, particularly concerned about budget cuts and their impact on teachers and staff because of possible furloughs.

That argument should be largely moot at this point. Subsequently the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) was passed, and Ige said the furloughs would not be necessary.

In any case, the aim of ARP — including $412 million for the DOE — is to remediate the problems caused by the limitations of distance learning, adaptations made because of the coronavirus pandemic. Of this total, $74.16 million is specifically for “learning loss.” That is what the DOE must be able to deliver, without having hands tied by lawmakers.

Christina Kishimoto, the outgoing superintendent, said in written remarks to the Senate Committee on Education that HB 613 “severely precludes the department’s ability to address unmet needs required to support public school students during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which is the primary intent for the federal relief funds implicated in this measure.”

Exactly right. And now that the ARP funding is coming through as well, the proper focus for the DOE should be on getting ready to deploy those additional funds to their best effect, rather than having to bat down ill-considered legislative power grabs.

On Wednesday, the first allotment of $81 billion in ARP funds was released by the Biden administration aimed at getting students back into the classroom and launching a “Summer Learning &Enrichment Collaborative.” Hawaii’s portion of those funds amounts to $274 million.

Education advocates in communities statewide are eager to work with the DOE on bringing such a summer collaborative to life and see this as an important first step. Alex Harris, vice president of programs at the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, said the U.S. Department of Education “expects a sizable portion to be used for summertime learning recovery and school reopening.”

The directive for remedial education by the U.S. DOE “validates the direction the department has already been heading with designating previous relief funds for this effort,” said Nanea Kalani, state DOE communications specialist.

There is some work being done along those lines, she said. A range of summer school models would include remediation, extended learning opportunities for English language learners and special education, “learning hubs” designed at school and complex levels for their specific needs, accelerated learning programs and other options.

This sounds like a promising start, but time is short to nail down all the details. Parents and education leaders should be involved in the process: Student teachers and substitute teachers, for example, surely could help with tutoring.

Hawaii KidsCAN, an advocacy nonprofit, is already piloting learning “pods” on Lanai; the concept, which brings together students with shared needs for group study, is worthwhile.

There is a wealth of funds and talent to apply to this unprecedented challenge — as well as elected officials who should be taking charge. Governor Ige, the school kids are waiting for you to marshal the forces.