WHEREAS, citizens with a high quality education contribute to the economic and social well-being of a nation; and

WHEREAS, the education of students nationwide is lagging behind that of most other industrialized nations; and

WHEREAS, most other industrialized countries have long recognized a high quality education as a right and support education through national public funding; and

WHEREAS, vast inequities exist in the quality of education throughout the United States; and

WHEREAS, the conventional system of funding education by county or state government is primarily responsible for these inequalities that reflect variations in local economic conditions; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that this body supports the right of every United States resident to access a high quality, federally funded, public education system from pre-school through college; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body respectfully requests the United States Congress to pass legislation to this effect; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President and Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, Hawaii's congressional delegation, the Governor of Hawaii, the

Chairperson of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii, the President of the University of Hawaii, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, and the Superintendent of Education.

Report Title:

Federally funded education from pre-school to university