HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

94

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting the Hawaii Department of education to Convene a task force to assess the Hawaii common core STANDARDS AND develop ALTERNATIVE State-based EDUCATIONal sTANDARDS.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, educational standards define the knowledge and skills each students should possess at each grade level; and

 

WHEREAS, the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, P.L. 107-110, requires each state to establish its own unique set of standards for reading, math and science; and

 

     WHEREAS, section 302A-201, Hawaii Revised Statues, directs the Board of Education to establish statewide performance standards and the means to assess those standards; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Common Core Standards Initiative, led by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers, established a set of college and career ready standards for kindergarten through twelfth grade in English Language Arts and Mathematics; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2010, Hawaii along with forty-five other states voluntarily adopted the Common Core State Standards as the state educational standards in order to qualify for federal Race to the Top grant money; and

 

     WHEREAS, Minnesota only adopted the English standard, and Alaska, Nebraska, Texas, and Virginia chose not to adopt the Common Core State Standards; and

 

     WHEREAS, states are backing out of the Common Core State Standards by creating new state-based, academic standards; and

 

     WHEREAS, Indiana and Oklahoma were the first states to drop the Common Core State Standards in 2014 and replace them with their own standards; and

 

     WHEREAS, South Carolina, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio have passed legislation mandating the Common Core State Standards be reviewed and potentially replaced with new standards; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii adopted the Common Core State Standards before they were finalized and without public input on what the state educational standards should be; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's educational standards should have community input and feedback from parents, guardians, community members, teachers and administrators; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that this body hereby requests the Hawaii Department of Education to convene a task force to assess the Common Core State Standards and to develop state-based educational standards approved by local stakeholders, including guardians, community members, teachers, and administrators; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to:

 

(1)  Conduct a comprehensive review of all English Language    Arts and Mathematics standards adopted and propose modifications to ensure that those standards meet all of the following criteria:

(A)  Increase students' level of academic achievement.

(B)  Are age-level and developmentally appropriate.

(C)  Are understandable to parents and to teachers.

(D)  Are among the highest standards in the nation; and

(E)  Establish a set of college and career ready standards for kindergarten through twelfth grade in English Language Arts and Mathematics; and

 

(2)  Involve and survey a representative sample of parents, teachers, and members of the public to help determine academic content standards that meet and reflect Hawaii's priorities and the usefulness of the content standards; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of this task force shall be as follows:

 

(1)  Two parents of children currently enrolled in grades kindergarten through twelve shall be selected by the President of the Senate;

 

(2)  Two parents of children currently enrolled in grades kindergarten through twelve shall be selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

 

(3)  Three education professionals selected by the State Board of Education from names submitted to it by the Hawaii State Teachers Association;

 

(4)  The Board of Education Chairperson, or the Chairperson's designee;

 

(5)  The Superintendent of the Department of Education, or the Superintendent's designee;

 

(6)  The Executive Director of the Charter School Administrative Office, or the Executive Director's designee; and

 

(7)  The Executive Director of Hawaii P-20, or the Executive Director's designee; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to report to the Legislature its findings and recommendations, including any proposals for legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2016; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor of Hawaii; the Chair of the Board of Education; the Superintendent of the Department of Education; the Executive Director of the Charter School Administrative Office; the President of the Hawaii State Teachers Association; and the Executive Director of Hawaii P-20.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Department of Education Task Force; Common Core Alternatives