STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1782

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.C.R. No. 70

S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 70, S.D. 1, entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING HAWAII'S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO REEVALUATE THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ENLISTMENT POLICY FOR HOMESCHOOLERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request Hawaii's congressional delegation to reevaluate the federal Department of Defense's armed forces enlistment policy for homeschoolers.

Your Committee received favorable testimony from the Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that the Department of Defense has changed the armed forces enlistment policy for recruits that receive their education at home. In the past, tier one homeschoolers who scored above fifty on the Armed Forces Qualifications Test were assured entry into the armed services. The Department of Defense has since changed its policy and now requires tier-one homeschoolers to provide additional evidence of academic achievement, even though homeschool graduates who scored above fifty on the Armed Forces Qualifications Test had nearly identical attrition rates with both private and public high school graduates.

Additionally, a home school graduate with an average Armed Forces Qualifications Test score of 59.3 is identical to a public school graduate. Homeschoolers also perform better than public school graduates on a variety of achievement tests. Also, homeschoolers are twice as likely to take a college entrance exam as the general population and homeschoolers are more likely to pursue postsecondary studies than regular high school graduates.

By requesting Hawaii's congressional delegation to reevaulate the Department of Defense's enlistment policy for homeschoolers, this Concurrent Resolution seeks to level the playing field for homeschooled armed forces recruits so that they are treated fairly and recruited under the same standards as regular high school graduates.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 70, S.D. 1, and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs,

 

____________________________

KEN ITO, Chair