STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1092

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.R. No. 107

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Education and Tourism and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.R. No. 107 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, AS PART OF ITS DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE HAWAIIAN STUDIES PROGRAM, TO CREATE A COALITION TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF DEVELOPING ASSESSMENTS REQUIRED BY THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT OF 2001 IN THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE FOR HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE IMMERSION STUDENTS TO MORE ACCURATELY MEASURE THEIR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Board of Education to create a coalition to address the issue of developing assessments required by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 in the Hawaiian language for Hawaiian language immersion students to more accurately measure their academic achievement.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Education, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawaii State Teachers Association, Kamehameha Schools, and one individual.

     Your Committees find that the Hawaiian language is one of the two official languages of the State and is a critical component of preserving the Hawaiian culture.  Your Committees further find that the Board of Education has acknowledged that its Hawaiian language immersion program is an essential part of revitalizing and continuing the Hawaiian culture.  To uphold its obligation to perpetuate the Hawaiian language, the Board and the Department of Education must provide Hawaiian language immersion program students with an assessment system that most accurately measures their academic achievement.

     Your Committees note that it will be critical that the Department of Education request a waiver from the United States Department of Education from its requirement that there be only one uniform statewide assessment.

     As this measure moves through the legislative process, your Committees note that there may be other persons or entities not currently identified that should receive certified copies of this measure.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Adding findings recognizing the efforts of the Hawaii Department of Education to develop a request for a waiver from the United States Department of Education from certain requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001;

     (2)  Adding findings stressing the importance of the Hawaiian language as recognized in the Hawaii State Constitution;

     (3)  Adding findings regarding the Native American Languages Act of 1990 and, among other things, the importance of Native American languages to their culture and identities;

     (4)  Requesting that representatives from ‘Aha Pūnana Leo, rather than representatives from Hawaiian language immersion schools, be part of the coalition;

     (5)  Adding language expressing the Legislature's support of the Department of Education's development of a request for a waiver to the United States Department of Education of certain requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001;

     (6)  Adding language urging the United States Department of Education to approve the Hawaii Department of Education's waiver request to allow for the most appropriate assessments and academic content standards for the Hawaiian language immersion program;

     (7)  Amending its title to read: "REQUESTING THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, AS PART OF ITS DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE HAWAIIAN STUDIES PROGRAM, TO CREATE A COALITION TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF DEVELOPING ASSESSMENTS IN THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE FOR HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE IMMERSION STUDENTS TO MORE ACCURATELY MEASURE THEIR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT"; and

     (8)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Tourism and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 107, as amended herein, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 107, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Tourism and Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________ BRICKWOOD GALUTERIA, Chair

____________________________ JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair