ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2017 – 43
REQUESTING PLACEMENT ON THE ADVISORY HUI OF THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN EDUCATION COUNCIL
WHEREAS, one of the objectives of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs is to actively encourage and assist in furthering the education and leadership development via Native Hawaiian designed and controlled models of education; promote greater sensitivity from educational institutions for the special needs and values of NH students; and promote Native Hawaiian culture, language and traditions for all; and
WHEREAS, in 1988, the Native Hawaiian Education Act (NHEA) was enacted by the United States Congress to address the uniquely identified educational needs of Native Hawaiians; and funded six supplemental programs in five distinct areas: family-based early childhood education, elementary curriculum development, higher education, special education and gifted and talented programs; and
WHEREAS, in 1994, the NHEA was reauthorized and amended to extend curriculum development to include secondary education and teacher training and recruitment; and added funding for community-based education learning centers; and
WHEREAS, the 1994 NHEA reauthorization also established the Native Hawaiian Education Council (NHEC) and five island councils, to provide guidance and direction of Native Hawaiian education resources to government agencies; and was initially composed of 25 NHEA grantees, various Native Hawaiian serving organizations, including the Association, and island council representatives; and
WHEREAS, the statutory responsibilities of the NHEC are to coordinate, assess and report and make recommendations on the: effectiveness of existing education programs for Native Hawaiians; the state of present Native Hawaiian education efforts; and improvements that may be made to existing programs, policies and procedures to improve the educational attainment of Native Hawaiians; and
WHEREAS, the 2001, NHEA reauthorization expanded the funding priorities to include services that addressed beginning reading and literacy, needs of at-risk children and youth, Native Hawaiian underemployment and Hawaiian language instruction; and changed the composition of the NHEC to ten Native Hawaiian education providers, ten Native Hawaiians or Native Hawaiian education consumers, and one Office of Hawaiian Affairs representative, and island councils were expanded from five to seven; and
WHEREAS, in 2015, President Barack Obama signed into law, the Every Student Succeeds Act, which contained the reauthorized NHEA as Title VI, Part B, and authorized charter schools as an eligible entity for direct funding; and expanded the Council’s activities to include provision of technical assistance to current and potential grant recipients and conducting community consultations on each island in place of island councils; and
WHEREAS, the 2015 NHEA reauthorization changed the composition of the NHEC to 15 state and county elected officials, public agency heads, private funders, and various Native Hawaiian serving organizations, including: the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i; the Mayor of the County of the Hawai‘i; the Mayor of the County of Maui; the Mayor of the County of Kaua‘i; the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu; a representative from the island of Molokaʻi or the island of Lānaʻi; the President of the University of Hawaiʻi; the Superintendent of the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Education; the Executive Director of the Hawaiʻi Charter School Network; the Chairperson of the Office of Hawaiian Affair; the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission; the Chairperson of the Hawaiʻi Workforce Development Council; the Chief Executive Officer of Kamehameha Schools; the Chief Executive Officer of Queen Liliʻuōkalani Trust; and an individual representing one or more private grant-making entities; and
WHEREAS, the NHEC recently established an Advisory Hui to provide a community-based mechanism for the continued engagement and guidance of the NHEC;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 58th Annual Convention in Seattle, Washington, in the malama of ʻIkuwā and the rising of Māhealani, this 4th day of November 2017, requesting placement on the Advisory Hui of the Native Hawaiian Education Council; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to the United States Department of Education; the President of the University of Hawaiʻi; the Superintendent of the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Education; the Executive Director of the Hawaiʻi Charter School Network; the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission; the Chairperson of the Hawaiʻi Workforce Development Council; the Chief Executive Officer of Kamehameha Schools; and the Chief Executive Officer of Queen Liliʻuōkalani Trust; the Native Hawaiian Education Council as well as the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chair of the State Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources, & Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of ʻIkuwā and the rising of Māhealani on the 4th day of November 2017, at the 58th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Seattle, Washington.
Annelle C. Amaral, President
