Hawaii
Legislature Considers Mixed Bills
The Hawaii Legislature is considering a variety of bills of interest to home schooling families:
House Bill 415, introduced by Representative Ken Ito, would require all parents to have their child’s development—psychological and physiological—assessed at a public elementary school within 90 days of the child’s third birthday. Home School Legal Defense Association believes that this legislation of unwarranted government intrusion into the privacy of families should be opposed.
Representative Dennis Arakaki has introduced H.B. 626, which would lower the compulsory attendance age from six to five and make attendance in kindergarten mandatory. HSLDA believes that such legislation interferes with the right of parents to direct the education of their children, specifically in determining when their children are ready to begin schooling.
H.B. 365 would permit home schooling families to purchase textbooks from the public school which the child would otherwise be required to attend. Sponsored by Representative Bertha Leong, this legislation would not impose any duty on the part of public schools to acquire textbooks for home schooled children but would enable home schooling families to purchase textbooks as they are available.
Hawaii is also considering two religious freedom measures, Senate Bill 1447 and H.B. 1696, both of which recognize that laws which on their face are neutral toward religion may nevertheless place burdens on religious exercise. Both of these bills would require that the state prove that it had a compelling interest in enforcing laws which burdened religious freedom. HSLDA supports this type of legislation.
Changes in Statewide Testing Program
According to an April 13, 1998, memorandum from State Superintendent Herman M. Aizawa, the department of education has decided to change the Statewide Student Assessment Program for public school students beginning with the 1998–99 school year. The state is going to use the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition, and will be testing in grades three, five, seven, and nine. Prior to this school year, public school students were being tested in grades three, six, eight, and ten.
Current home school law requires that students being home schooled be tested in grades three, six, eight, and ten. A change in policy by the department of education for testing public school students in the Statewide Testing Program is insufficient to change the grades during which home schooled students are presently being tested. Any such change would have to involve changes to the administrative rules governing home education. Any home schooling families contacted by state officials insisting that they begin testing in accordance with the newly-adopted grade levels should contact HSLDA for assistance.
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Hawai‘i Pono‘i
by
King David Kalakaua
“. . . Hawaii’s own true sons, be loyal to your chief . . .”
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