Bill Text: HI SCR215 | 2019 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Requesting The Department Of Education To Convene A Working Group To Identify Factors And Resources Needed To Sustain Current And Future Robotics Programs Within The Department Of Education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-27 - Report adopted, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [SCR215 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2019-SCR215-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
215 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO CONVENE A WORKING GROUP TO IDENTIFY FACTORS AND RESOURCES NEEDED TO SUSTAIN CURRENT AND FUTURE ROBOTICS PROGRAMS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
WHEREAS, robots and robotic technologies represent a practical application of physics, computer science, engineering, and mathematics and provide a very powerful and flexible approach to demonstrate a variety of engineering concepts; and
WHEREAS, robotics appeals to a broad range of interests and allows multiple points of access to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for many types of learners; and
WHEREAS, robotics technology and robots are being used by an increasing number of educators at the college level to reinforce computer science and engineering theory and to teach basic software and mechanical engineering at the elementary, middle and intermediate, and high school levels; and
WHEREAS, robots and robotic technology catalyze an interest in science and increase self-esteem, as well as teach basic life skills such as problem solving, decision making, goal setting, and logical thinking; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii can serve as a model of coordination of a full range of robotics education opportunities from elementary through college and provide templates for initiating such efforts elsewhere; and
WHEREAS, many Hawaii schools have robotics teams, but there are still many constraints on funding, resources, and instructors that prevent some schools from building robotics programs and recruiting students; and
WHEREAS, in order to improve science education in the State and increase opportunities for students to participate in robotics, it is necessary to identify the most relevant factors and resources needed to sustain current and future robotics programs in public schools; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Education is requested to convene a working group to identify factors and resources needed to sustain current and future robotics programs within the Department; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to evaluate the following:
(1) The current state of robotics in Hawaii from kindergarten to post-secondary education;
(2) Identifying and describing factors that have initiated, sustained, and created increasing access for student participation in scholastic robotics and factors that have been barriers to initiating and sustaining programs and expanding access for student participation;
(3) Identifying and describing the resources needed to sustain the current and future robotics programs;
(4) Identifying the means to track student participation to document the role scholastic robotics has on college and career readiness and career choices;
(5) Identifying the opportunities for leveraging Hawaii scholastic robotics for hosting annual national and international scholastic robotics competitions, exhibitions, and exchange programs with Pacific Rim partners to foster technology-based tourism and collaboration among countries; and
(6) Other relevant issues as determined by the working group; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to include the following members:
(1) The state STEM and career technical education specialists and representative complex resource STEM and career technical education teachers from the Department of Education;
(2) Assistant Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, or the Dean's designee;
(3) The statewide coordinators, or designated representatives, for the Hawaii scholastic robotics programs that have national and international affiliations, such as FIRST Robotics, VEX Robotics, underwater ROV, drone, and other identified programs;
(4) Representatives from the Hawaii Tourism Authority and Hawaii Convention Center;
(5) Representatives from identified work force development and new business development groups, including the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and Hawaii Technology Development Corporation;
(6) Representatives of private industry that have provided grant funds to support robotics through their foundations;
(7) A representative from the Office of Aerospace Development; and
(8) Classroom teacher representatives who foster STEM using robotics as tools for after-school or in-class programs from the islands of Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, Oahu, and Hawaii island; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report of 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 2020; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Education, Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Executive Director of the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation, Director of the Office of Aerospace Development, Assistant Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Statewide Coordinator for VEX Robotics, and Statewide Coordinator for First Robotics.
Department of Education; Working Group; Robotics
