HI HR206

Urges the State of Hawaii to create and fund a state grant program awarding financial aid to Native Hawaiian and Hawaiian students with financial need at any University of Hawaii System campus.

Requires students to possess an Office of Hawaiian Affairs card identifying them as persons included in the Hawaiian registry under Hawaii Revised Statutes section 10-19 to qualify for the aid.

Cites that Native Hawaiians represent 22.4 percent of University of Hawaii students but have the lowest college graduation rates of all ethnic groups in Hawaii, with only 15 percent earning bachelor's degrees and 3.2 percent earning graduate degrees.

Notes that 38 percent of Native Hawaiian doctoral candidates at the University of Hawaii receive no financial aid or tuition waivers, and economic stress combined with Hawaii's high cost of living prevents many Native Hawaiian students from completing degrees.

Directs transmission of the resolution to the Governor, University of Hawaii Board of Regents, University of Hawaii President, and Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees Chair.