Bill Text: HI SCR49 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii Senate Concurrent Resolution 49 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Urging Private Schools In Hawaii To Consider Offering Or Continue Offering Hawaiian Language Instruction As An Option Or An Elective In Their Academic Curriculum.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-02 - The committee on HWN deferred the measure. [SCR49 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2017-SCR49-Introduced.html

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	49
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

URGING private schools in hawai�i to consider offering or continuE offerING hawaiian language instruction as an option or an elective in their academic curriculum.

WHEREAS, approximately twenty-three public schools (grades kindergarten through twelve), including six charter schools, throughout the State offer Hawaiian language immersion (Kula Kaiapuni); and

WHEREAS, the private Hawaiian immersion preschool system, �Aha Punana Leo, was established in 1983; and

WHEREAS, �Aha Kauleo for Papahana Kaiapuni Hawai�i, a guidance/advisory council for the development and growth of Hawaiian medium in schools, is under the Office of Hawaiian Education in the Department of Education; and

WHEREAS, of the one hundred seven private schools in Hawai�i, there are sixty-nine on Oahu, sixteen on Maui, fourteen on Hawai�i island, six on Kauai, and two on Moloka�i; there are an additional two private colleges; and

WHEREAS, some private schools in Hawai�i teach �olelo Hawai�i; and

WHEREAS, a review of private school literature indicates that although Hawaii Baptist Academy, Hawaii Pacific University, Hawaii Preparatory Academy, �Iolani School, Island Pacific Academy, Kamehameha Schools, Kawaiahao Church School, Maryknoll, Parker School, Punahou School, Sacred Hearts Academy, St. Andrews Priory School, St. Joseph School, St. Louis School, Seabury Hall, and Star of the Sea School are teaching Hawaiian, most of the private schools do not; and

WHEREAS, Hawaiian is not considered a world language such as Chinese, French, or Spanish, and is therefore not offered in some private schools, but those same schools recognize the importance of students to acquire an objective view of students' native language, and to understand the language and cultures of other people; and

WHEREAS, it is commonly known that there are advantages to being multilingual, that languages are easily learned as youth, and that the cultures of peoples are learned through peoples' language, including Hawaiian; and

WHEREAS, throughout the modern history of Hawai�i there has been controversy regarding which language, Hawaiian or English, should have prominent use; however, since the 1978 Constitutional Convention, Hawaiian and English have been recognized as official languages of Hawai�i; and

WHEREAS, Hawaiian is the host culture of our islands and is enjoyed by all; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawai�i retains the Hawaiian language motto and anthem; and

WHEREAS, there are many aids to learning Hawaiian, such as Hawaiian-English (1957) and English-Hawaiian (1964) dictionaries by Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert; Ulukau, a Hawaiian language digital library with searchable files in Hawaiian; Apple Computer's Hawaiian language support that includes a Hawaiian keyboard for iPhone and Google; Hawaiian language columns in the daily newspaper; and translations of Hawaiian language newspapers into English; and

WHEREAS, the learning of Hawaiian language is robust at the college level, as evidenced by thriving enrollment in the Bachelor of Arts in Hawaiian Language program at the University of Hawai�i since the 1970s, a Ph.D. award in Indigenous Language and Cultural Revitalization at the University of Hawai�i since 2004, and accreditation by the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium (WINHEC) of the Ka Haku �Ula O Ke�elikolani College of Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawai�i at Hilo, all indicating that Hawaiian language studies are thriving at the college level; and

WHEREAS, in 2013, the month of February was designated as Mahina �Olelo Hawai�i (�Olelo Hawai�i Month) through the enactment of section 8-24, Hawaii Revised Statutes; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, the House of Representatives concurring, that private schools in Hawai�i are urged to consider offering or continue offering Hawaiian language instruction as an option or an elective in their academic curriculum; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that private schools that do not currently teach �olelo Hawai�i are requested to take a survey of parents and students to determine interest in learning the language; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education support the curriculum and instruction of �olelo Hawai�i in private schools in Hawai�i that express interest in adding Hawaiian to their curriculum and instruction; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that private schools are requested to look for ways to incorporate Hawaiian language into their curriculum and instruction; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to �Aha Kauleo for Papahana Kaiapuni Hawai�i, Hawaii Association of Independent Schools and other similar organizations that represent private schools, who are requested to transmit a copy of this Concurrent Resolution to each of their member schools; and to each private school in the State that is not a member of an independent association or organization.