HI SCR52

Requests the Department of Education to increase emphasis on fine arts education, including visual arts, music, theatre, and dance in Hawaii's public schools.

Requests the Department of Education to expand Hawaiian studies curriculum, including Hawaiian and Polynesian studies, Hawaiian language, Native Hawaiian culture, and traditional customary practices.

Cites a 2014 Harvard study showing music and drama education increases verbal achievement and spatial reasoning, and a 2013 University of Arkansas study showing visual arts instruction improves critical thinking skills.

Notes that 52 percent of Hawaii's public school students come from economically disadvantaged households and that Native Hawaiians constitute the largest student population in the system.

Directs transmission of certified copies to the Board of Education Chairperson and Superintendent of Education.