RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the 1994 National Education Goals Panel adopted as one of its primary goals that "All children in America should start school ready to learn"; and

WHEREAS, this national goal continues to be unmet throughout the nation, as kindergarten teachers report that half of their entering students are not adequately ready to learn; and

WHEREAS, beginning with Act 77, Session Laws of Hawaii 1997, the Hawaii Legislature established Hawaii's Interdepartmental Council on Children and Families (Council) in recognition of the importance of early education for ensuring future student achievement in their formal education program; and

WHEREAS, the Council established the School Readiness Task Force (Task Force) to develop a plan to improve the quality of early learning experiences for young children in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, Act 77 was subsequently amended by Act 13, Session Laws of Hawaii 2002, to include a definition of "school readiness" and to request a progress report from the Council on how to measure and support school readiness; and

WHEREAS, one of the recommendations in the report from the Task Force was to "set meaningful content standards for preschools…linking them to the Department of Education's standards for Kindergarten to Second Grade…"; and

WHEREAS, early education programs, and especially preschools for children ages three and four, have become an increasingly important venue for "school readiness"; and

WHEREAS, this linkage between preschool programs and formal education programs will not only benefit the individual students, but the system as a whole in meeting state and federal mandates; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Hawaii Interdepartmental Council on Children and Families, through its School Readiness Task Force, work collaboratively to develop preschool content standards that can be adopted statewide; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council and Task Force members work with their various constituent groups to assist in the development and implementation of these standards; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council submit a status report to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2004 regular session, including its progress on the development and implementation of statewide standards; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education, the Chief Executive Officer of Kamehameha Schools, the Good Beginnings Alliance, the Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children, the University of Hawaii College of Education, the Hawaii State Teachers Association, the Director of Health, the Director of Human Services, and the Hawaii Business Roundtable.

Report Title:

Hawaii Preschool Content Standards