HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	64
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

Requesting the department of education to establish a two-year pilot program to offer online instruction to middle and high school students in the public school system.

     WHEREAS, the mission of the Hawaii Board of Education is to promote excellence and equity in Hawaii's public schools and enable all students to meet their own unique and varied potentials; and

     WHEREAS, the traditional classroom instruction offered by the Department of Education does not meet the needs of every student; and

     WHEREAS, some students learn at a faster rate than their peers, which causes those students to become bored at school; and

     WHEREAS, an online instruction program for middle and high school students, which allows students to participate in courses from home, could provide students an opportunity to learn at their own pace; and

     WHEREAS, the Department of Education is in the midst of an unprecedented fiscal crisis; and

     WHEREAS, an instructional program that requires students to conduct most of their studies from home would reduce costs for staffing and operating school facilities; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, that the Department of Education is requested to establish a two-year pilot program to offer online instruction to middle and high school students in the public school system; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to consider structuring the pilot program to include the following:

     (1)  School courses designed for middle and high school students to learn at their own pace and accessible from the student's home;

     (2)  Delivery of online course content through web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classrooms, and other modes of learning; and

     (3)  A requirement that all students enrolled in the pilot program shall meet in person once a week with a teacher during the school year; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to submit a preliminary report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2012, and a final report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2013; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature requests that the preliminary and final reports include information on:

     (1)  The academic achievement of student participants;

     (2)  The impact of the pilot program on participating students and teachers;

     (3)  The cost of the pilot program; and

     (4)  Any savings realized by the pilot program in terms of reduction in costs that would have been incurred for classroom instruction of the pilot program's students; and

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

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Department of Education; Pilot Program; Online Instruction