Bill > HR164

This Resolution urges the Department of Education to expand opportunities for arts and cultural education in public schools as a way to help students recover from the academic setbacks, or "learning loss," caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The resolution highlights extensive research indicating that subjects like art, music, and drama not only contribute to a well-rounded education and the development of crucial skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity, but also improve students' ability to retain information across all subjects and positively impact their social-emotional well-being. It points to significant drops in math, language arts, and science proficiency among Hawaii's public school students during the pandemic, and suggests that increased arts education can be a valuable tool in addressing these declines, especially given the substantial federal funds received by the Department of Education to mitigate the pandemic's effects.