THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

18

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE RESOLUTION

 

requesting the Department of Education to develop and distribute a series of publications designed to inform parents and guardians about what their children are learning in language arts/reading, mathematics, science, and social studies from kindergarten through grade SIX.

 

WHEREAS, to create a world-class education system and ensure each child's success now and well into the future, a state must develop rigorous and demanding curriculum standards. Curriculum standards specify what students should know and be able to do; and

WHEREAS, a state's curriculum standards should be based on the content standards produced by such learned groups as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Council of Teachers of English, International Reading Association, National Research Council, and National Council for Teachers of Social Studies; and

WHEREAS, standards are important because they set high levels of learning and performance for all students, serve as a basis for assessment across the curriculum, and focus on what is important in each curriculum area; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii is committed to providing its children with the best education possible. One of the ways that the State can accomplish this objective is with an effective, high quality curriculum; and

WHEREAS, the State has developed rigorous curriculum standards aligned with national guidelines and the standards of the finest school systems throughout the nation. Even with the most rigorous curriculum standards, however, it is the understanding and support of parents that will help make the State's schools and Hawaii's students successful; and

WHEREAS, parents need and want to know what educational standards have been established in the four major subject areas of language arts/reading, mathematics, science, and social studies; and

WHEREAS, the United States Department of Defense Education Activity has developed a series of publications designed to inform parents and guardians about what their children are learning in these four major curriculum areas from pre-kindergarten through grade six. These publications provide parents and guardians with samples of what students are learning and what they should know and be able to do when they complete each grade; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that the Department of Education is requested to develop and distribute a series of publications designed to inform parents and guardians about what their children are learning in language arts/reading, mathematics, science, and social studies from kindergarten through grade six; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to model its publications after the series developed and distributed by the United States Department of Defense Education Activity; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to submit at least one publication to the Legislature at least twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session beginning with kindergarten prior to the Regular Session of 2005, and ending with grade six prior to the Regular Session of 2011; and

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

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

DOE; Develop and Distribute Publications for Parents