STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1325

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.C.R. No. 131
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education and Technology, to which was
referred S.C.R. No. 131 entitled:

     "SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE
     REFERENCE BUREAU TO REVIEW THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S
     LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAM FOR THE HAWAII CREOLE ENGLISH SPEAKING
     STUDENTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to request the Legislative
Reference Bureau to review the adequacy of the Department of
Education's language arts program for the Hawaii Creole English
speaking students with limited English proficiency.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
University of Hawaii College of Language, Linguistics, and
Literature, the University of Hawaii Department of English as a
Second Language, and three concerned individuals.  The Department
of Education submitted comments on this measure.

     Your Committee finds that an estimated eighty percent of
public school students are Hawaii Creole English ("pidgin")
speakers.  There is no doubt a linguistic difference between
Hawaii Creole English and standard English.  Special programs are
needed for these students to achieve their full academic
potential, which draw on research in education and second
language acquisition.  These programs must include an awareness
that this situation is different and unique and requires
educational approaches which reflect this difference.  

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1325
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     Your Committee has amended this measure to add information
on Project Akamai, a program that was administered by the
Department of Education, and involved 800 ninth and tenth grade
Hawaii Creole English speaking students, which subsequently
received positive reviews.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Education and Technology that is attached to this
report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of
S.C.R. No. 131, as amended herein, and recommends that it be
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached
hereto as S.C.R. No. 131, S.D. 1.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Education and
                                   Technology,



                                   ______________________________
                                   DAVID Y. IGE, Chair

 
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