115             
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.              
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO EXAMINE SCHOOL
    POLICIES RELATING TO STUDENT VIOLENCE.



 1        WHEREAS, school violence on school campuses among students
 2   is increasing, according to recent published reports; and
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, the Honolulu Advertiser reported on January 28,
 5   1999, that there was a significant statistical increase in
 6   robberies in schools by minors over the past ten years,
 7   commonly known as "hijackings"; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii's Youth Gang Project's
10   report, "Juvenile Robbery Arrests in Honolulu - An Overview",
11   noted a one hundred six per cent increase in robbery arrests
12   between 1991 and 1997 as reflecting more "bullying" incidents
13   at school; and
14   
15        WHEREAS, the Honolulu Advertiser reported on October 14,
16   1998, that Hawaii has the highest percentage of all states at
17   forty-four per cent of eighth graders attending schools that
18   reported a moderate or serious problem with physical conflicts
19   in 1996; and
20   
21        WHEREAS, public school parents have complained about
22   verbal abuse and physical violence on a daily basis at Oahu
23   public high schools; and
24   
25        WHEREAS, the problem of school violence is related to
26   other inseparable issues of harassment due to race, religion,
27   national origin, or sexual orientation; and
28   
29        WHEREAS, gay and lesbian students are particular targets
30   of school violence; and
31   
32        WHEREAS, the Department of Education has an obligation to
33   ensure the safety of students, to provide programs and
34   instruction to educate students about school violence, and to
35   punish the perpetrators of violence; now, therefore,
36   

 
Page 2                                   115               
                                  H.R. NO.              
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
 2   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
 3   of 1999, that the Department of Education is requested to
 4   examine school policies relating to student violence and
 5   inappropriate campus behavior, including violence or
 6   inappropriate acts motivated by race, gender, or sexual
 7   orientation, verbal abuse of peers, swearing at and belittling
 8   of others, with a view toward enhancing prevention,
 9   enforcement, and punishment; and
10   
11        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education
12   report its findings and recommendations to the legislature no
13   later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular
14   Session of 2000; and
15   
16        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
17   Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education
18   and the State Board of Education.
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22                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________