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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.R. NO. |
53 |
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THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE RESOLUTION
URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO OPPOSE BUDGET CUTS TO PUBLIC EDUCATION AND PROTECT HAWAIIAN EDUCATION FROM REGRESSION.
WHEREAS, the strength of the State is shaped by a strong educational system, the benefits of which are societal and personal; and
WHEREAS, support for education also leads to sustainable, generative practices that ensure an independent economic future for Hawai‘i; and
WHEREAS, article X, section 4, of the Hawai‘i State Constitution requires the State to provide a Hawaiian education program consisting of language, culture, and history in the public schools; and encourages the use of community expertise as a suitable and essential means in furtherance of the Hawaiian education program; and
WHEREAS, in 1978, the people of the State of Hawai‘i voted to amend the Hawai‘i State Constitution to include ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i, the Native Hawaiian language, as an official language of the State, equal to the English language; and
WHEREAS, in 2019, the Hawai‘i Supreme Court ruled in Clarabal ex rel. C.M.K.C. v. Department of Education, SCAP-16-0000475, that article X, section 4, of the Hawai‘i State Constitution requires the State "to institute a program that is reasonably calculated to revive the Hawaiian language"; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald wrote in Clarabal that "it is clear that through the adoption of article X, section 4, the framers intended to provide each child in the public schools with a reasonable opportunity to become fluent in ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i."; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Education, responsible for maintaining and supporting the K-12 public education system in the State, and the University of Hawai‘i system serve as the educational pipeline for the students of Hawai‘i; and
WHEREAS, the University of Hawai‘i system mission and value statements, goals, and strategic plan state that the University will be "a Hawaiian place of learning that summons our rich knowledge systems to help mālama Hawai‘i and the world for future generations"; and
WHEREAS, the proposed budget cuts to the Department of Education directly threaten the educational pipeline that has been established with the University of Hawai‘i system; and
WHEREAS, the proposed budget cuts to the Department of Education also directly negatively impact the economic future of the State of Hawaii by weakening Hawaii's education pipeline; and
WHEREAS, the proposed budget cuts to the Department of Education Office of Hawaiian Education directly impact the Department's ability to fulfill the requirements of article X, section 4, of the Hawai‘i State Constitution; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, that the Department of Education is urged to oppose budget cuts to public education and protect Hawaiian education from regression; and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the Department of Education and the Department of Budget and Finance
are requested to reconsider proposed action to significantly reduce the Department
of Education's budget due to the potentially damaging effects on all haumāna of Hawaii's public schools and
the tremendous negative effects proposed reductions will have on Hawai‘i's economy; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Education, and Director of Finance.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Department of Education; Public Education Budget Cuts; Opposition