Bill Text: HI SCR165 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Hawaiian Language Immersion Schools; Standardized Tests; Native Hawaiian Language; Report
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-19 - Referred to EDU/THA/PSM, WAM. [SCR165 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2013-SCR165-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
165 |
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TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
requesting the United States Department of education and the hawaii department of education to develop and implement a standardized assessment test in the hawaiian language that meets or exempts hawaiian language immersion schools from the standards of the federal no child left behind act of 2001 and more accurately measures the academic achievement of hawaiian language immersion students.
WHEREAS, the Hawaiian language has a unique importance to the State and is recognized under article XV, section 4, the Hawaii State Constitution as an official language of the State; and
WHEREAS, article X, section 4, of the Hawaii State Constitution requires that the State promote the study of the Hawaiian culture, history, and language and provide for a Hawaiian education program consisting of language, culture, and history in public schools; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaiian language was once a thriving language used by Native Hawaiians and foreigners alike; and
WHEREAS, by the late twentieth century, the Hawaiian language was pushed to the brink of extinction due to a number of factors, including an 1896 law that functioned to ban the speaking of the Hawaiian language in Hawaii's schools; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaiian language was saved by several historic initiatives, including the Department of Education's Hawaiian language immersion program, which was launched in the 1980s; and
WHEREAS, today, the Hawaiian language immersion program is offered at twenty-one public schools and educates more than two thousand students in kindergarten through the twelfth grade; and
WHEREAS, the assessments required by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (No Child Left Behind) present a challenge for the Hawaiian immersion program; and
WHEREAS, because English is not formally introduced in the Hawaiian immersion program classrooms until the fifth grade, third and fourth graders take assessments in the Hawaiian language to comply with the requirements of No Child Left Behind; and
WHEREAS, Hawaiian language immersion students in the fifth grade are then expected to take the Hawaii State Assessment in English for the first time; and
WHEREAS, Hawaiian language immersion educators find these English language-based standardized assessment unfair and are calling for the development of standardized assessments in the Hawaiian language, especially because the Hawaii State Assessments are tied to the performance indicators and benchmarks pursuant to No Child Left Behind; and
WHEREAS, there is considerable pressure for publicly funded schools to achieve No Child Left Behind standards because schools that fail to achieve adequate yearly progress in student proficiency for two consecutive years may be subject to varying sanctions, including state intervention and the replacement of school staff; and
WHEREAS, furthermore, some Hawaiian language immersion educators are requesting the federal government to grant an exemption from English language-based testing standards and other No Child Left Behind mandates because these requirements present obstacles for Hawaiian language immersion schools and potentially jeopardize these Hawaiian language immersion programs that are vital to maintaining and perpetuating the Native Hawaiian language; and
WHEREAS, Hawaiian language immersion educators and advocates urge the federal government to develop a fair method of testing Hawaiian language immersion students; and
WHEREAS, in December 2012, ‘Aha Kauleo, the statewide advisory council for the Department of Education's Hawaiian language immersion program, urged parents of Hawaiian language immersion students to not allow their children to take the Hawaii State Assessment translated in the Hawaiian language because the test was inaccurate; and
WHEREAS, advocates state that the No Child Left Behind standards conflicts with the Native American Languages Act of 1990, which defines Native Americans as Indians, Native Hawaiians, or Native Pacific Islanders; and
WHEREAS, the Native American Languages Act of 1990 recognizes that the traditional languages of Native Americans are an integral part of their cultures and identities and form the basic medium for the transmission, and thus survival, of Native American cultures, literatures, histories, religions, political institutions, and values; and
WHEREAS, the Native American Languages Act of 1990 also declares as a federal policy the encouragement and support for the use of Native American languages as a medium of instruction in order to encourage and support:
(1) Native American language survival;
(2) Educational opportunity;
(3) Increased student success and performance;
(4) Increased student awareness and knowledge of their culture and history; and
(5) Increased student and community pride; and
WHEREAS, accordingly, the Department of Education must provide the students with an assessment system that more accurately measures their academic achievement; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature is aware that the Board of Education is currently reviewing issues regarding assessments as part of its development of a comprehensive Hawaiian studies program within Hawaii's public school system; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the House of Representatives concurring, that the United States Department of Education and the Hawaii Department of Education are requested to develop and implement a standardized assessment test in the Hawaiian language that meets or exempts Hawaiian language immersion school from the standards of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and more accurately measures the academic achievement of Hawaiian language immersion students; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in developing a standardized assessment test in the Hawaiian language, the United States Department of Education and the Hawaii Department of Education consult with representatives from the following entities:
(1) Hawaiian language immersion schools;
(2) The University of Hawaii System;
(3) The Office of Hawaiian Affairs;
(4) Kamehameha Schools; and
(5) Any other entity or organization the departments deems relevant; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Department of Education is requested to report findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2014; provided that the Department of Education is requested to include in its report:
(1) A timeline for when specific grade levels will be able to take assessments in language arts, mathematics, and science in the Hawaiian language;
(2) A summary of the discussion and any decisions regarding exempting Hawaiian language immersion schools from English language-based testing standards and other No Child Left Behind mandates;
(3) Any proposed legislation; and
(4) Any requests for necessary funding; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Secretary of the United States Department of Education, Superintendent of Education, Chairperson of the Board of Education, President of the University of Hawaii System, Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Chief Executive Officer of Kamehameha Schools.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Hawaiian Language Immersion Schools; Standardized Tests; Native Hawaiian Language; Report
