STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3186

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 51

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 51 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO OFFER COURSES IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Department of Education to offer courses in American Sign Language in at least one high school per complex area.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Disability and Communication Access Board.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Education.

     Your Committee finds that American Sign Language is a separate language from English, with its own vocabulary and grammatical rules.  American Sign Language is the third most studied language in the United States, and it is valuable to individuals with hearing impaired friends and family members as well as to the public as a marketable skill.  Your Committee further finds that although the Department of Education offers some courses in American Sign Language, Hawaii's students would benefit if the ability to study the language were more readily available.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by recognizing that the Department of Education does offer minimal courses in American Sign Language.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 51, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 51, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

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MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair