Bill Text: HI HCR198 | 2018 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Requesting That The Hawaii State Department Of Education Report To The Legislature On Its Compliance With The Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity In Education Act And The Resolution Agreement Between The Hawaii State Department Of Education And The United States Department Of Education Office For Civil Rights Dated December 20, 2017.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-04-25 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HCR198 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2018-HCR198-Amended.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	198
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THAT THE HAWAII STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON ITS COMPLIANCE WITH THE PATSY MINK EQUAL OPPORTUNITY IN EDUCATION ACT AND THE RESOLUTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE HAWAII STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS DATED DECEMBER 20, 2017.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, Title IX of the federal Education Amendments of 1972, renamed in 2002 as the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act in honor of its principal author, Patsy Takemoto Mink, former Congresswoman from Hawaii, states that "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance"; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, which is responsible for enforcing Title IX, the Hawaii State Department of Education is out of compliance with Title IX; and

 

     WHEREAS, specifically, the United States Office for Civil Rights, in a January 19, 2018, letter to the Hawaii State Department of Education, found that the department was in violation of the following Title IX requirements:

 

     (1)  Designating a coordinator to carry out Title IX responsibilities and providing notice of the coordinator to students and employees;

 

     (2)  Developing and disseminating a notice of nondiscrimination; and

 

     (3)  Providing appropriate grievance procedures to address complaints; and

 

     WHEREAS, participation in after-school sports enhances girls' leadership skills and boosts their success in academic and collegiate achievement, making them more likely to graduate from high school and score higher on standardized tests; and

 

     WHEREAS, eight of the twenty-three high schools on Oahu lack separate athletic locker facilities for girls, even though they have athletic locker facilities for boys, including Campbell High School, the largest public school in the State with three thousand two hundred students; and

 

     WHEREAS, two out of the ten high schools on Hawaii island, two of the five high schools on Maui, and one of the three high schools on Kauai also do not have separate athletic locker facilities for girls, even though they have athletic locker facilities for boys; and

 

     WHEREAS, many girls throughout the State must participate in public school sports using inferior sports facilities and without adequate drinking water or restrooms nearby; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Department of Education entered into a Resolution Agreement with the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, dated December 20, 2017; and

 

     WHEREAS, in the Resolution Agreement, the Hawaii State Department of Education agreed to take multiple steps and actions to come into compliance with Title IX, including committing to various reporting requirements to the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, the Senate concurring, that no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session, beginning with the Regular Session of 2019, the Department of Education is requested to provide a report to the Legislature detailing its actions to comply with Title IX; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education's report to the Legislature include but not be limited to documentation of:

 

     (1)  All actions taken by the Department of Education to comply with Title IX pursuant to the Resolution Agreement;

 

     (2)  All actions taken by the Department of Education to comply with Title IX with regard to all athletic facilities, including but not limited to fields, locker rooms, and transportation; and

 

     (3)  All requests for appropriations, positions, and any proposed legislation to comply with the requirements of Title IX; and

 

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

Report Title: 

DOE; U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights; Title IX, Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act; Gender Equality; School Sports