HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.78          
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEVELOP A PLAN TO ADD
   PRE-SCHOOL FACILITIES AND PROGRAMS ON OR NEAR ALL NEWLY
   CONTRACTED OR RENOVATED ELEMENTARY CAMPUSES AND TO ALLOCATE
   CLASSROOM SPACE AT EXISTING ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS FOR PRE-
   SCHOOL FACILITIES AND PROGRAMS.



 1       WHEREAS, it is generally recognized that a quality pre-
 2   school program can have a major impact on how well a child does
 3   throughout the child's educational career; and
 4   
 5       WHEREAS, community input and support of educational
 6   programs tend to be greater at the pre-school level on account
 7   of the young age of the children; and 
 8   
 9       WHEREAS, parental involvement is enhanced when children
10   begin their education at an age when they still require
11   substantial emotional, physical, and time resources from their
12   parents; and
13   
14       WHEREAS, pre-school experience helps children prepare for
15   and successfully enter the educational system by acquainting
16   them with both school operations and peer interaction, which,
17   in turn, make the transition into the educational system
18   smoother; and
19   
20       WHEREAS, early education is one of the keys to lifting
21   native Hawaiians' economic and educational levels; now,
22   therefore, 
23   
24       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
25   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
26   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that the Department of
27   Education is requested to develop plans to establish at least
28   two pre-school classrooms, that will accommodate approximately
29   20 students each, at each of Hawaii's elementary schools that
30   have been either newly built or recently renovated, by the
31   2001-2002 school term; and
32   
33       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is
34   requested to ensure that all elementary public schools that are
35   currently in the planning or design stages incorporate
36   facilities to support a pre-kindergarten program; and
37   

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.78          
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is
 2   requested to submit a report to the Legislature on its plans
 3   to:
 4       (1)  Add pre-school programs to all elementary campuses
 5            that do not currently have them;
 6   
 7       (2)  Include pre-school programs at elementary schools in
 8            the planning or design stages;
 9   
10       (3)  Include existing early childhood education programs in
11            the planning and design of pre-kindergarten facilities
12            and programs; and
13   
14       (4)  Standardize all pre-school programs so that they meet
15            uniform standards and afford similar opportunities to
16            all children, regardless of geographic or economic
17            demographics, 
18   
19   no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular
20   Session of 2000; and
21   
22       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
23   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the
24   Board of Education and the Superintendent of Education.
25 
26 
27 
28                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________