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THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING A REVIEW OF THE ADEQUACY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
    EDUCATION'S LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAM FOR HAWAII CREOLE
    ENGLISH SPEAKING STUDENTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH
    PROFICIENCY.



 1        WHEREAS, the United States Congress has recognized in the
 2   Bilingual Education Act of 1968 and subsequent amendments the
 3   need for bilingual education programs to help students with
 4   limited English proficiency who are at a disadvantage in the
 5   standard English-speaking classroom; and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, the intention of Congress is to provide "seed
 8   money" for experimental programs which, when proven successful,
 9   are then to be taken over for full implementation by the
10   individual states; and
11   
12        WHEREAS, additionally, court decisions have required
13   schools to provide appropriate education for students with
14   limited English proficiency whose first language is another
15   language such as Cantonese or Mandarin, or a dialect of English
16   such as Black English; and
17   
18        WHEREAS, students in Hawaii's public schools with limited
19   English proficiency whose first language is another language
20   such as Ilocano or Vietnamese are being provided by the
21   Department of Education with a very successful bilingual
22   program called Students with Limited English Proficiency,
23   involving small classes, bilingual teachers, and bilingual
24   materials; and
25   
26        WHEREAS, the Students with Limited English Proficiency
27   program is based on an attitude of respect for the student and
28   the student's first language and culture, and allows the
29   teacher and the student to communicate in the language as
30   needed, thereby creating a supportive environment in which the
31   student gains English proficiency and higher self-esteem, which
32   in turn enhances the student's chances of succeeding in school
33   and in society; and
34   

 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        WHEREAS, thousands of students in Hawaii's public schools
 2   with limited English proficiency whose first language is Hawaii
 3   Creole English, commonly but incorrectly referred to as
 4   "pidgin" English, are not being provided with a comparable
 5   program to help them overcome similar linguistic disadvantages;
 6   and
 7   
 8        WHEREAS, teachers and schools have been trying to provide
 9   for the needs of these students by developing materials and
10   strategies of their own but with limited success, as reflected
11   in the over-representation of these students among those who
12   have low test scores or are in remedial reading, special
13   education, and alternative education classes, and among those
14   who, because of low self-esteem, do not even try, or drop out
15   of school; and
16   
17        WHEREAS, the federal Office of Bilingual Education and
18   Minority Language Affairs determined in 1983 that Hawaii Creole
19   English qualifies as a language for which federal funds may be
20   expended; and
21   
22        WHEREAS, the Department of Education in 1984 applied for
23   and received federal funds for Project Holopono, a program that
24   ran from 1984-1988 involving about one hundred eighty Hawaii
25   Creole English speaking students in eight elementary schools
26   and subsequently received a positive evaluation; and
27   
28        WHEREAS, the Department of Education applied for and
29   received federal funds for Project Akamai, a program that ran
30   from 1989-1992 involving eight hundred ninth and tenth grade
31   Hawaii Creole English speaking students in seventeen high
32   schools and subsequently received a positive evaluation; and
33   
34        WHEREAS, the Department of Education has not followed up
35   these two successful projects with statewide implementation;
36   and
37   
38        WHEREAS, the Hawaii State House of Representatives, in
39   H.R. No. 727 (1979) and H.R. No. 371, H.D. 1 (1988) and the
40   Hawaii State Teachers Association at its 1988 state convention
41   have, by resolution, urged the Department of Education to
42   develop and implement an appropriate program for Hawaii Creole
43   English speaking students with limited English proficiency,
44   which resulted in unproductive responses; now, therefore,
45   

 
 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
 2   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1999, the House of
 3   Representatives concurring, that the Legislative Reference
 4   Bureau is requested to summarize the Department of Education's
 5   research concerning the adequacy of the Department of
 6   Education's language arts program for Hawaii Creole English
 7   speaking students with limited English proficiency; and
 8   
 9        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is
10   requested to submit the following information to the
11   Legislative Reference Bureau before August 31, 1999:
12   
13        (1)  The number of students whose first language is Hawaii
14             Creole English and who have limited proficiency in
15             English;
16   
17        (2)  A comparison and interpretation of standardized test
18             scores of these students and English speaking
19             students, including patterns of test results in
20             reading comprehension, vocabulary, math computation,
21             and word-problem solving;
22   
23        (3)  A comparison of the proportion of these students in
24             the total student population who are in remedial
25             reading classes, special education classes, and
26             alternative programs, and those who have dropped out
27             of school;
28   
29        (4)  The extent to which positive or negative attitudes
30             toward these students and Hawaii Creole English are
31             reflected by the school in rules, policies, and
32             practices, explicit or implicit, that encourage,
33             tolerate, discourage, or ban the use of Hawaii Creole
34             English in class and on the playground;
35   
36        (5)  The extent to which these students are helped to make
37             the transition from Hawaii Creole English to standard
38             English through the use of more extensive reading
39             readiness activities, by allowing the use of Hawaii
40             Creole English, their first language, in class
41             discussions, storytelling, and creative writing, by
42             developing and adapting reading material for these
43             students, and by providing them with more extensive
44             instruction in vocabulary development;
45   

 
 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 2
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        (6)  The extent to which schools are using the Keaukaha
 2             Project and the Hawaii English Program materials and
 3             the Language-Experience-Thinking based strategies,
 4             which the Department of Education has cited over the
 5             years as being helpful in teaching these students,
 6             and materials developed by Projects Holopono and
 7             Akamai;
 8   
 9        (7)  A survey of teachers and students regarding the need
10             for a program for Hawaii Creole English speaking
11             students with limited English proficiency;
12   
13        (8)  An inquiry into whether the Department of Education,
14             having received federal funds for Projects Holopono
15             and Akamai, is now obligated to implement a program
16             statewide for these students; and
17   
18        (9)  The objective criteria and quantitative data, as well
19             as the subjective criteria and qualitative data, that
20             were used to decide whether the abovementioned
21             programs would be continued or discontinued,
22             including the costs of these programs, and the costs
23             to other programs, and any statistically significant
24             improvements in student achievement;
25   
26   and
27   
28        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is
29   requested to gather information from the University of Hawaii
30   College of Education, the Hawaii State Teachers Association,
31   the Hawaii Parent, Teacher, and Student Association, and all of
32   the public schools; and
33   
34        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference
35   Bureau is requested to submit a summary of the Department of
36   Education's research to the Legislature not less than twenty
37   days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2000; and
38   
39        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
40   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the
41   Legislative Reference Bureau, the Chairperson of the Board of
42   Education, the Superintendent of Education, the President of
43   the University of Hawaii, the President of the Hawaii State
44   Teachers Association, the President of the Hawaii State Parent,
45   Teacher, and Student Association, and all public school
46   principals.