Report Title:

Education; community service

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Hawaii's students face both immense opportunities and great challenges in the New Economy, which demands a quality workforce; and

WHEREAS, to meet these challenges, Hawaii's students must be proficient in core academic areas, as well as knowledgeable and skilled in real world situations; and

WHEREAS, an effective means of ensuring that students are prepared for employment and higher education is to incorporate work experience, community service, or service learning into the school curriculum; and

WHEREAS, findings show that community service is an effective way to create a feeling of pride and a sense of belonging for students; and

WHEREAS, through community service, students also experience the satisfaction of making meaningful contributions to their communities and gain a better understanding of how to balance personal, work, and community responsibilities and demands; and

WHEREAS, community service is currently offered by some public schools as an option to acquire credits, which are applicable toward high school graduation requirements; and

WHEREAS, this has proven very effective in building personal and community responsibility in young individuals and providing them with an effective means of learning; and

WHEREAS, requiring Hawaii's high school students to perform community service would be of great assistance to the community and help support Hawaii's non-profit organizations; and

WHEREAS, another area where students might get involved in the community is through service learning, which provides an opportunity for students to integrate, through a community project, practical application of what they are learning with their course of work; and

WHEREAS, for example, Hawaii's School-to-Work Program has been instrumental in providing public school students with opportunities for meaningful work experience, and has been one of the nation's leaders in implementing service learning programs; and

WHEREAS, participating in community service, work experience, or service learning would also assist Hawaii's students in obtaining scholarships and post high school job opportunities; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Education (DOE) is requested to establish mandatory community service, work experience, or service learning as a requirement for graduation from high school; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DOE work with the Board of Education in establishing this requirement; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DOE submit a report of the actions taken pursuant to this Concurrent Resolution to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2002; and

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