THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2587
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

Relating to Whole Child Education.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that whole child education promotes creative thinking and improves academic achievement across subject areas.  A 2014 Harvard Graduate School of Education study indicated that education in music and drama contributes to an increase in verbal achievement and spatial reasoning.  In 2013, researchers in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas similarly found that instruction in visual arts led to gains in critical thinking skills.

     The legislature further finds that place-based curricula immerses students in the culture, history, and heritage of local communities, and encourages students to apply cultural content to local community experiences.  Hawaii has a unique history as a former sovereign nation and several communities face problems dealing with the legacy of annexation, including a higher risk of poverty and lower levels of academic achievement for native Hawaiians.  Place-based education is essential to provide students with the skills necessary to solve community problems.

     The purpose of this Act is to promote creative thinking, self-directed learning, and cultural understanding by requiring public school students in all grade levels to receive whole child education.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§302A-   Whole child education. (a)  Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, all public elementary schools shall allocate       per cent of all student hours to whole child education and all public middle and intermediate schools shall allocate       per cent of all student hours to whole child education.

(b)  For the purposes of this section:

"Student hours" has the same meaning or value as the student hours as calculated in section 302A-251.

"Whole child education" means instruction in visual arts, music, theatre, dance, Hawaiian and Polynesian studies, Hawaiian language, native Hawaiian culture, native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices, and physical education."

     SECTION 3.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Whole Child Education; Public Education

Description:

Requires all public schools to allocate a percentage of student hours to instruction in visual arts, music, theatre, dance, Hawaiian and Polynesian studies, Hawaiian language, native Hawaiian culture, native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices, and physical education.

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