THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

88

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO INCLUDE SHADED PLAY AREAS IN PLANS FOR ALL NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND to establish AND phase in A PLAN TO PROVIDE SHADED PLAY AREAS ON THE GROUNDS OF ALL EXISTING ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS BY 2011.

 

 

     WHEREAS, according to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer is the most common form of all cancers, and accounts for about half of all cancers; and

 

     WHEREAS, there are different forms of skin cancer including melanoma and basal and squamous cell skin cancer; and

 

     WHEREAS, melanoma accounts for about three per cent of skin cancer cases in the United States, but causes the most deaths, numbering over eight thousand per year; and

 

     WHEREAS, non-melanoma skin cancer can also be fatal on the order of about one to two thousand cases per year; and

 

     WHEREAS, risk factors for all types of skin cancers include exposure to the sun's ultraviolet light; and

 

     WHEREAS, studies also show that exposure to ultraviolet light at a young age can be an added risk factor for the occurrence of skin cancer; and

 

     WHEREAS, to reduce the risk of skin cancer from exposure to ultraviolet light at an early age, children should be able to play in shaded areas away from the sun's harmful radiation; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Education is urged to include at least one shaded area of reasonable size on school grounds in plans for all new elementary schools; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department is urged to develop and implement a program to provide at least one shaded play area of reasonable size on the grounds of all existing elementary schools by June 30, 2011, and that this program should be phased in on an incremental basis with priority given to the schools most in need; and

 

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

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Department of Education; Shaded Play Areas