RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, health education in schools aims to teach students how to be health literate, with the ability to obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services in ways that enhance their health; and

WHEREAS, health education content and performance standards in public schools serve as a preventative health method of educating and shaping student behaviors related to health; and

WHEREAS, much has changed in the last decade in terms of health trends and health-related problems, for example, HIV/AIDS, obesity, smoking, alcohol abuse, and drug use that may potentially impact Hawaii's students; and

WHEREAS, in the United States, for example, it is estimated that approximately nine hundred thousand people are HIV positive, with a substantial number of new infections occurring under the age of twenty-five, despite health education programs on HIV/AIDS in middle or intermediate and high schools; and

WHEREAS, in Hawaii, school-age obesity ranks high compared to the rest of the country, and if allowed to run its course, obesity will become the gateway for health-related problems in adulthood, such as type two diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and certain types of cancer; and

WHEREAS, although youth smoking has declined nationwide and in Hawaii, it still poses a significant health risk for students, as more than one in four high school students smoke cigarettes; and

WHEREAS, peer pressure is often a potent reason why students begin smoking and people who begin smoking at a young age are more likely to become addicted to nicotine; and

WHEREAS, growing alcohol and drug use and abuse among youths put students at a greater risk for developing and sustaining unhealthy habits into adulthood and death; and

WHEREAS, according to local statistics, most arrests and convictions resulting in prison sentences in Hawaii are attributed to illegal drugs, with the abuse of crystal methamphetamine on Oahu ranking the highest; and

WHEREAS, because of changing health trends and potential health risks in the United States and Hawaii, public school health education must be current and relevant to the State's students to effectively address risk factors and assist in prevention; and

WHEREAS, current health education content and performance standards for state middle or intermediate and high schools do not necessarily reflect current health trends and risks; 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 the Department of Education, with the assistance of the Department of Health, is requested to review and revise, as necessary, the health education content and performance standards applicable to middle or intermediate and high school students; and

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

Report Title:

Relating to health education content and performance standards.