Bill Text: HI SR35 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Department Of Education To Establish A Task Force To Locate Potential, Viable Properties Along The Waianae Coast On Which To Establish A Hawaiian-language Immersion School For Students From Kindergarten To Grade 12.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-16 - Referred to HWN/EDU, WAM. [SR35 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2017-SR35-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	35
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING the department of education to ESTABLISH a task force to locate potential, viable properties along the wai‘anae coast on which to establish a hawaiian-language immersion school for students from KINDERGARTEN to GRADE 12.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, kupuna in the Nānākuli ahupua‘a have been striving to reestablish their children and grandchildren's cultural identity through the Hawaiian language since the 1960s; and

 

WHEREAS, despite the growth of Hawaiian-language immersion schools in other areas of the state, the creation of a Hawaiian studies curriculum within the Department of Education, and the establishment of a Hawaiian studies program at the University of Hawaii, the Nānākuli community continues to lack a Hawaiian-language immersion school from kindergarten to grade 12; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Nānākuli ahupua‘a has been home to the highest concentration of Hawaiians in the world for over 50 years, and children from the Wai‘anae Coast constitute a significant portion of the student population at Hawaiian-language immersion schools in other areas of the state; and

 

WHEREAS, Pūnana Leo o Wai‘anae serves students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, while Ke Kula Kaiapuni ‘o Nānākuli serves students from kindergarten through grade six; and

 

WHEREAS, however, Ke Kula Kaiapuni ‘o Nānākuli has experienced a decline in enrollment because parents prefer to enroll their children in an immersion school that serves students from kindergarten through grade 12; and

 

WHEREAS, as a result, many students have transferred to Hawaiian-language immersion schools in other school districts, including Ke Kula Kaiapuni ‘O Ānuenue in the Honolulu School District; and

WHEREAS, a high percentage of students who reside in the Leeward School District are being transported via school bus to immersion schools in other areas, which raises costs for both parents and the Department of Education; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, that the Department of Education is requested to establish a task force to locate potential, viable properties along the Wai‘anae coast, with a preference for a location in Mā‘ili, on which to establish a Hawaiian-language immersion school to educate students from kindergarten through grade 12; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force should consist of the following members:

 

     (1)  The Superintendent of Education, or the Superintendent's designee;

 

     (2)  The Executive Director of the State Public Charter School Commission, or the Executive Director's designee;

 

     (3)  The Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, or the Chairperson's designee;

 

     (4)  The Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, or the Chairperson's designee;

 

     (5)  The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, or the Chairperson's designee;

 

     (6)  The Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, or the Mayor's designee; and

 

     (7)  Members representing the community and stakeholders; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Superintendent of Education, or the Superintendent's designee, should serve as the chairperson of the task force; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that no member should be subject to Chapter 84, Hawaii Revised Statutes, solely because of that member's participation as a member of the task force; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature at least 30 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2019; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education, Executive Director of the State Public Charter School Commission, Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Hawaiian-language Immersion School; Wai‘anae Coast