THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

56

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

requesting the department of education to provide distance learning educational services.

 

WHEREAS, distance learning is an option for earning course credit off-campus via cable television, the Internet, satellite classes, videotapes, correspondence courses, or other forms of computer-based communication; and

WHEREAS, distance learning is an attractive option for students who need to stay home for health reasons, desire to work at their own pace, find themselves unable to concentrate on their work in a traditional classroom setting, or need to schedule their learning around a career; and

WHEREAS, distance learning programs allow students to work at their own pace, taking time as needed and moving more quickly through easier courses; and

WHEREAS, greater flexibility in scheduling allows the student to arrange classes around work and other responsibilities; and

WHEREAS, while some of these alternative students have Internet access, some do not, which forecloses a variety of long-distance learning options; and

WHEREAS, prisons are closed societies with restricted access to the outside world; and

WHEREAS, education can be a means of rehabilitation for prisoners, especially young offenders who have not been given opportunities to familiarize themselves with the learning process; and

WHEREAS, access to education in prisons has been a major problem in the past, particularly for prisoners on remand and for those serving short sentences, as prisoners usually do not have access to the Internet, which forecloses a variety of long-distance learning options; and

WHEREAS, lifelong online learning can help students retool their skills and qualifications for their job, earn a graduate equivalency diploma, prepare students for a new job or simply help students achieve a personal improvement goal; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Education is requested to provide distance learning education services that use a delivery method other than the Internet to prisoners and others who are unable to attend a traditional educational setting; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Superintendent of Education and the Chairperson of the Board of Education.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Distance learning education; Prisons