THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	118
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO convene a working group to review after-school programs in Hawaii's public middle and intermediate schools.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, according to the Afterschool Alliance fifteen million children across the United States are alone and unsupervised after school; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 1990, the Department of Education established the After-School Plus Program to provide after-school care, including enrichment activities and supervised recreational activities, until 5:30 p.m. each school day at more than one hundred-ninety participating schools; and

 

     WHEREAS, children eligible to attend the program are elementary-school-age students whose parents work, attend school, or are participating in job-training programs; and

 

     WHEREAS, funding for structured after-school programs is not available to the Department of Education's middle and intermediate schools; and

 

     WHEREAS, after-school programs are effective because they enrich students' experiences outside of school, while also improving their attendance, grades, and behavior in school; and

 

     WHEREAS, quality after-school programs targeted to Hawaii's public middle school students generate significant returns on investment for society as a whole; and

 

     WHEREAS, middle and intermediate school students are often left with few safe and structured opportunities between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.; and

 

     WHEREAS, at a time when middle and low-income families and communities are struggling financially and students are falling behind academically, after-school programs are needed now more than ever; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, that the Department of Education is requested to convene a working group to review after-school programs in Hawaii's public middle and intermediate schools; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the review include:

 

(1)  A timeline and inventory of existing after-school programs at middle and intermediate schools;

 

(2)  Data regarding current levels of costs, funding sources, and student participation of existing after-school programs at middle and intermediate schools;

 

(3)  Recommendations on improving the availability, quality, and coordination of after-school programs at middle and intermediate schools;

 

(4)  Recommendations on how collaboration can be promoted between agencies and stakeholders providing after-school care in Hawaii; and

 

(5)  The development of efficient and collaborative ways to address funding, logistics, and outcomes of providing structured after-school programs at middle and intermediate schools; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Superintendent of Education, or their designee, is requested to serve as the chairperson of the working group and to invite the following individuals, or their designees, to be members of the working group:

 

(1)  Director of Human Services;

 

(2)  One middle or intermediate school principal;

 

(3)  One representative from a 21^st Century Community Learning Center;

 

(4)  Executive Director of Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education;

 

(5)  One representative from the Honolulu Police Department;

 

(6)  Executive Director of After-School All-Stars Hawaii;

 

(7)  One representative of Kamehameha Schools; and

 

(8)  One representative of the private sector; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to convene the working group no later than July 1, 2016; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education, on behalf of the working group, is requested to submit its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2017; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Education, Director of Human Services, Executive Director of Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education, Chief of Police of the Honolulu Police Department, Executive Director of After-School All-Stars Hawaii, and the Chief Executive Officer of Kamehameha Schools.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

After-School Programs