RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the United Nations has declared literacy to be a basic human right along with the right to adequate food, health care, and housing; and

WHEREAS, literacy is central to the importance of an individual's development in society, as, increasingly, it is correlated with higher income and job productivity; and

WHEREAS, the social consequences of low levels of literacy in some cultures can include higher prison incarceration rates and welfare dependency; and

WHEREAS, reports indicate that there are not enough young people in the educational system to fill the nation's workforce needs in the decades to come; and

WHEREAS, growing numbers of adults lack a high school diploma and too few are making the transition into community colleges; and

WHEREAS, the deficit in skilled workers places severe limits on the American economy to innovate, grow, and compete in the global marketplace; and

WHEREAS, to lessen this workforce deficit, more attention and resources need to be focused on adult education students already in the system and other adults with low basic skills; and

WHEREAS, the income and skills gap in American society is widening and the main source for the education and training needed to hold adequate employment and function well as parents and citizens is through community colleges; and

WHEREAS, high-opportunity jobs require some form of postsecondary education or other specialized training and an increasing number require postsecondary academic degrees or certifications; and

WHEREAS, there are approximately three million adults in educational programs out of the thirty to fifty million adults with low basic skills; and

WHEREAS, the Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy's report entitled, "To Ensure America's Future: Building a National Opportunity System for Adults," is an in-depth study of adult education and community colleges and the critical need to strengthen links between the two; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the House of Representatives concurring, that a working group be established under the auspices of the Department of Education to examine the recommendations of the Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy's report entitled, "To Ensure America's Future: Building a National Opportunity System for Adults," and develop a five-year plan to enable any student in grade nine to successfully navigate through the State's formal education system and have expanded and improved options to best complete secondary education programs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group be comprised of representatives of adult education service providers, Department of Education, the University of Hawaii system and community colleges, P-20 Council, high school counselors, and the Workforce Development Council, and chaired by a representative from the Department of Education; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to report the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the working group at least twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of

Education, Chairperson of the Board of Education, Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, and the Chancellors of each of the Community Colleges.

Report Title:

Adult education and literacy