HI SR50

Requests the Department of Education to require one year of Hawaiian language (ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi) instruction as a graduation requirement for public school students in Hawaii.

Hawaiian is one of two official state languages under the Hawaii State Constitution (amended in 1978), making Hawaii the only U.S. state with a native language as an official language.

Hawaiian language was banned in schools in 1896 following the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, leading to near extinction by the 1980s with fewer than 50 fluent speakers under age 18.

Currently 22 Department of Education schools and 7 charter schools offer Hawaiian language immersion education (Ka Papahana Kaiapuni Hawaiʻi) for grades K-12, but Hawaiian language study remains optional.

Resolution directs certified copies to be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education and Superintendent of Education.