THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	26
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the Department of Education to implement a Hawaiian language requirement as part of the high school graduation requirements, consistent with existing English graduation requirements

 

 

     WHEREAS, olelo Hawaii, the Hawaiian language, is the native language of the Native Hawaiian people; and

 

     WHEREAS, once spoken throughout Hawaii by Native Hawaiians and foreigners alike, olelo Hawaii was considered to be nearly extinct by the 1980s, when fewer than fifty fluent speakers under the age of eighteen were left; and

 

     WHEREAS, a major reason for the deterioration of the Hawaiian language was an 1896 law that required English instruction in Hawaii schools; and

 

     WHEREAS, in practice, this law functioned to "ban" students from speaking olelo Hawaii at their schools; and

 

     WHEREAS, to save the Hawaiian language, a number of historic initiatives were launched, including Aha Punana Leo's Hawaiian language immersion preschools, the Department of Education's Hawaiian language immersion program, and the Hawaiian language programs of the University of Hawaii system; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 1978, the Hawaii Constitution was amended to recognize the Hawaiian language as one of the two official languages of the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, several important gubernatorial proclamations on olelo Hawaii were issued in the 1990s, including gubernatorial proclamations in 1994 and 1995, written in both Hawaiian and English, that were issued recognizing February 1994 and February 1995 as "Hawaiian Language Month in Hawaii"; and

 

     WHEREAS, the proclamations urged people to participate in Hawaiian language activities held in February; and

 

     WHEREAS, while the Hawaiian language revitalization movement has made major strides in the last thirty years, for olelo Hawaii to not just survive, but also to thrive, more people need to speak Hawaiian; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the Department of Education is urged to implement a Hawaiian language requirement as part of the high school graduation requirements, consistent with existing English graduation requirements; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent and Chairperson of the Board of Education.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Hawaiian Language; Department of Education; Graduation Requirements