THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

99

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006

  

STATE OF HAWAII

  
   

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

SUPPORTING THE ADOPTION OF A PROPOSED amendment to the constitution of the united states regarding the right of all united States citizens to a public education of equal high quality.

 

WHEREAS, United States Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. has introduced a resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to guarantee to all citizens the right to a public education of equal high quality; and

WHEREAS, the education of children is of utmost importance in a functioning democracy; and

WHEREAS, many disenfranchised Americans today do not receive an education of equal high quality; and

WHEREAS, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the General Assembly in 1948 enshrines the right to education as a fundamental human right "directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms"; and

WHEREAS, education is critical to the engagement and participation in activities that are the building blocks of peace, security, and prosperity, both at home and abroad; and

WHEREAS, education provides vital exposure to differing cultures and philosophies which promotes understanding, tolerance, and friendship among peoples of all nations, racial, and religious groups; and

WHEREAS, the United States is a Member State of the United Nations; and

WHEREAS, transforming the human right to education into an American constitutional right would expand educational access for the large number of Americans who go without an equal high quality education; and

WHEREAS, a constitutional right to education would lead to the establishment of remedies for denials of this right; and

WHEREAS, House Joint Resolution 29, introduced into the United States House of Representatives, reads as follows:

"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), that the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid for all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:

'Article

SECTION 1. All persons shall enjoy the right to a public education of equal high quality.

SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation.'"; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislature of the State of Hawaii hereby urges that the proposed United States House Joint Resolution 29, dated March 2, 2005, be adopted; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and to the members of Hawaii's delegation to the Congress of the United States.

 

 
 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Amendment to U.S. Constitution; Right to Education