WHEREAS, Hawaii's Catholic schools have a long and proud history and a strong tradition of educating Hawaii's children since 1840, when King Kamehameha III enacted a law relating to the education of Hawaii's children; and

WHEREAS, by 1850, the Roman Catholic Church had established 102 Catholic schools to educate children of all faiths and provide a valuable service to the people of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, since then, Catholic schools in Hawaii have continued to provide a valuable service to the State by educating thousands of students, accounting for approximately one-third of all private school students in the State in 2002; and

WHEREAS, the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaii maintains oversight of all Catholic schools in its diocese through its Department of Catholic Schools, which has regulatory functions, duties, and responsibilities for all schools in the diocese, including the licensing of schools to provide an education to Hawaii's youth; and

WHEREAS, academic programs at Catholic schools, from pre-Kindergarten through 12^th grade, are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Western Catholic Educational Association, agencies which have some of the highest educational standards in the country; and

WHEREAS, prior to 1995, it was necessary for all schools, public and private, to be licensed by the Department of Education (DOE) to provide education to Hawaii's youth; and

WHEREAS, in June 1995, Governor Benjamin J. Cayetano signed into law, Act 188, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 1995, which removed the requirement that Hawaii private schools be licensed by DOE, to deregulate the licensing of private schools by the State of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, since the events of September 11^th, 2001, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security, formerly known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service, has begun enforcing rules regarding the enrolling of foreign students, which has caused difficulties for Catholic schools in accepting foreign students; and

WHEREAS, to better monitor student enrollment, BCIS has been strictly requiring schools to be licensed by the State before a school can enroll a foreign student; and

WHEREAS, since Act 188, SLH 1995, exempted private schools from being licensed by DOE, Catholic schools have been licensed by the Department of Catholic Schools of the Hawaii Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, a licensure not recognized by the BCIS; and

WHEREAS, since BCIS does not recognize the licensure of Catholic schools by the Department of Catholic Schools of the Hawaii Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic schools have not been able to accept foreign students; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that this body hereby urges BCIS to recognize Catholic schools as licensed private schools in the state of Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, the Director of the Department of Catholic Schools of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, the Superintendent of Hawaii Catholic Schools, and the Director of BCIS.

Report Title:

Urging the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security to recognize Hawaii's Catholic schools as licensed schools in the State of Hawaii.