Report Title:

Schools; character education

 

Description:

Requires the department of education to ensure that character education is taught in grades kindergarten through 12 in the public school system.

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

437

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to education.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Character education is a national movement that fosters ethical, responsible, and caring young people by teaching good character through an emphasis on universal values of the community. It is a movement to have schools instill in their students important ethical values such as caring, honesty, fairness, responsibility, and respect for self and others.

The legislature finds that in communities where character education is in place, parents and educators have found that significant changes have occurred. School attendance is up, incidents requiring discipline are down, and students are reminding each other about proper behavior.

In Hawaii, the Board of Education has adopted character education as a policy. Hawaii is also one of twenty-eight states to receive up to a million dollars of funding from the U.S. Department of Education to develop curriculum materials, provide teacher training, involve parents in character education and integrate character education into the curriculum. The department has developed curriculum models through seven pilot schools which can be adopted/adapted by schools statewide.

The purpose of this Act is to require public schools to teach character education in grades kindergarten through 12.

SECTION 2. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§302A- Instruction in character education. The department shall require all public schools to instruct students in kindergarten through grade twelve, in character education. Schools shall design activities, including using the department's curriculum models on character education, to incorporate six elements of character: caring, civic virtue and citizenship, justice and fairness, respect, responsibility, and trustworthiness."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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