Hawaii

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Hawaii received $866,551 in federal funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in Fiscal Year 2003.¹

Hawaii Sexuality Education Law

Hawaii Education Policy states that "in order to help students make decisions that promote healthy behaviors, the Department of Education shall instruct students that abstention from sexual intercourse is the surest and most responsible way to prevent unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and consequent emotional distress." The policy then enumerates that this program shall help students remain abstinent, help currently sexually active students become abstinent, and "provide youth with information on and skill development in the use of protective devices and methods for the purpose of preventing sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy."

Hawaii Education Policy requires that students complete a half credit in health education for high school graduation. This does not have to include sexuality education.

Hawaii does not require parental permission for students to participate in sexuality or HIV/AIDS education nor does it say that parents or guardians can remove their children from such classes.

See Hawaii Board of Education Policies 2100, 2110, and 2245.

Recent Legislation

The Hawaii legislature carried bills over from the 2003 to the 2004 session. Hawaii's legislative session ended on May 6, 2004.

Bills Requiring Medically Accurate, Comprehensive Sexuality Education Die

Two bills, House Bill 136 and Senate Bill 876, both introduced in 2003, would have required recipients of state funding who provide sexuality education to provide medically accurate, age-appropriate information about both abstinence and contraception.

House Bill 872, introduced on January 22, 2003, noted that comprehensive sexuality education which discusses abstinence and contraception helps delay the onset of sexual activity and reduce the frequency of intercourse among teens, and that abstinence-only programs do not delay the onset of sexual activity or the frequency of intercourse. The bill required the board of education to formulate a policy requiring that schools teach comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality education.

All three bills died at the end of Hawaii's 2004 legislative session.

Events of Note

Sex Education Material Removed from Classroom
December 2002; Kohala, HI

A brochure was removed from an eighth-grade sexuality education class in Kohala, HI, after the content was criticized by parents. Discovering Your Sexuality, a four-page supplement to the Weekly Reader series, Current Health, describes "how children mature sexually, talks about crushes, and summarizes research on sexual orientation."²

The parents objected to the material because they found it "lewd," "licentious," and "pornographic."³ They also strongly objected to those organizations cited as resources, including SIECUS and Planned Parenthood. One parent flew to Honolulu to protest in-person to the state board of education. At least one board member agreed with the parents' complaints and said, "I fully understand why the parents … are outraged. This material teaches children that homosexual behavior is normal and natural and encourages them to consider that they might be homosexual."⁴ She went on to say she would propose a school policy to require that parents be notified before certain sexuality materials are used in the classroom.

The state school superintendent said the department will review the issue but said that such a policy already exists. Under the existing policy, parents are supposed to be notified about potentially objectionable materials. The teacher admitted that she had used the materials without consulting parents but said the material was only to be used so the students could become familiar with the vocabulary. "I jumped the gun," she said.⁵ At the same time, the teacher felt that the parents were "overzealous" and "overreacting" and that they showed "signs of being homophobic."⁶

Hawaii Students Want Better Sexuality Education
December 2002

During the annual meeting of the Hawaii Secondary Student Conference, students from every public school district and private school in the state came up with a list of resolutions for the new year. One resolution involved advocating for better sexuality education in the schools, including access to condoms in school health rooms, and peer education programs to help stop teen pregnancy.⁷

Hawaii's Youth: Statistical Information of Note⁸

• In 2001, 36% of female high school students and 31% of male high school students in Hawaii reported ever having had sexual intercourse compared to 43% of female high school students and 49% of male high school students nationwide.
• In 2001, 4% of female high school students and 6% of male high school students in Hawaii reported having had sexual intercourse before age 13 compared to 4% of female high school students and 9% of male high school students nationwide.
• In 2001, 9% of female high school students and 8% of male high school students in Hawaii reported having had four or more lifetime sexual partners compared to 11% of female high school students and 17% of male high school students nationwide.
• In 2001, 25% of female high school students and 21% of male high school students in Hawaii reported being currently sexually active (defined as having had sexual intercourse in the three months prior to the survey) compared to 33% of females and 33% of males nationwide.
• In 2001, among those high school students in Hawaii who reported being currently sexually active, 22% reported having used alcohol or drugs the last time they had sexual intercourse compared to 26% nationwide.
• In 2001, among those high school students in Hawaii who reported being currently sexually active, 46% reported having used condoms the last time they had sexual intercourse compared to 58% nationwide.
• In 2001, among those high school students in Hawaii who reported being currently sexually active, 17% reported having used birth control pills the last time they had sexual intercourse compared to 18% nationwide.
• In 2001, 4% of female high school students and 3% of male high school students in Hawaii reported ever having been pregnant or gotten someone pregnant compared to 5% of female high school students and 4% of male high school students nationwide.
• In 2001, 87% of high school students in Hawaii reported having been taught about AIDS/HIV in school compared to 89% of high school students nationwide.
• In 2000, Hawaii's abortion rate was 34 per 1,000 women ages 15-19 compared to a teen abortion rate of 24 per 1,000 nationwide.⁹
• In 2001, Hawaii's birth rate was 42 per 1,000 women ages 15-19 compared to a teen birth rate of 45 per 1,000 nationwide.¹⁰

Title V Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding

Hawaii received $131,519 in federal Title V funds in Fiscal Year 2003. The Title V abstinence-only-until-marriage grant requires states to provide three state-raised dollars or the equivalent in services for every four federal dollars received. Hawaii matches the federal money with $101,040 in state funding. The Hawaii Department of Health oversees this funding.

The Hawaii Department of Health gives one grant to the Boys and Girls Club of Honolulu. The Boys and Girls Club of Honolulu implements the Smart Moves program in four sites. Each site has a community advisory board that is linked with Lavlima, community advisory boards working on teen pregnancy and adolescent wellness.

The grant has four goals:

1. to promote health through appropriate education and life skills trainings;
2. to improve or enhance personal growth through self-esteem building and pro-social activities;
3. to increase peer (13 to 17 year olds) and adult involvement in program planning and implementation; and
4. to increase parent and community awareness and support of the needs of our youth.

The program emphasizes two points of the eight-point federal definition of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs:

• teaches young people how to reject sexual advances and how alcohol and drug use increase vulnerability to sexual advances; and
• teaches the importance of attaining self-sufficiency before engaging in sexual activity.

The Boys and Girls Club of Honolulu targets nine to 12 year olds. Parents and adults also participate in activities. Youth ages 13 to 17 are involved in the program as peer mentors. The program uses the Smart Moves curriculum to encourage youth to abstain from risk-taking behavior. Classes are held in after-school or community-based settings as Hawaii's sexuality education law requires in-school programs to be abstinence-based, not abstinence-only-until-marriage.

The Smart Moves program will be evaluated on both process and outcome. The evaluation will examine sexual intercourse rates, attitudes about abstinence, STD rates, teen pregnancy rates, and birth rates among 15 to 17 year olds. The University of Hawaii will be working on components of the evaluation.

Special Projects of Regional and National Significance-Community Based Abstinence Education (SPRANS-CBAE) and Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA) Grantees

There is one SPRANS-CBAE grantee in Hawaii: Catholic Charities of Honolulu. There are no AFLA grantees in Hawaii.

Federal and State Funding for Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs in FY 2003 ¹¹

Title V Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Coordinator

Candice Radner Calhoun ACSW, LSW
Hawaii Department of Health
Family Health Services Division
School Health Services Branch
741-A Sunset Ave.
Honolulu, HI 96816
Phone: (808) 733-8339

Hawaii Organizations that Support Comprehensive Sexuality Education

Planned Parenthood of Hawaii
1350 S. King St., Suite 309
Honolulu, HI 96814
Phone: (808) 589-1156
http://www.plannedparenthoodhawaii.org

Hawaii American Civil Liberties Union
PO Box 3410
Honolulu, HI 96801
Phone: (808) 522-5900
http://www.hawaifamilyforum.org

Hawaii Organizations that Oppose Comprehensive Sexuality Education

Hawaii Christian Coalition
1336 Dillingham Blvd, #H
Honolulu, HI 96817
Phone: (808) 842-0707
http://www.hi-christian.com

Hawaii Family Forum
6301 Pali Highway
Kaneohe, HI 96744
http://www.hawaiifamilyforum.org

Hawaii Right to Life Inc.
1019 University Ave. #7B
Honolulu, HI 96826
Phone: (808) 943-1595
http://www.hrtl.org

Newspapers in Hawaii

The Garden Island
Assignment Editor
3137 Kuhio Highway
Lihue, HI 96766
Phone: (808) 245-3681

Hawaii Hochi
Assignment Editor
917 Kokea St
Honolulu, HI 96817
Phone: (808) 845-2255

Honolulu Advertiser
Robbie Dingeman
Medical/Health Reporter
605 Kapiolani Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: (808) 535-2429

Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Leila Fujimori
Community News Reporter
500 Ala Moana Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: (808) 529-4752

The Maui News
Illima Loomis
Community News Reporter
100 Mahalani St
Wailuku, HI 96793
Phone: (808) 244-3981

Tribune-Herald
Assignment Editor
355 Kinoole St
Hilo, HI 96720
Phone: (808) 935-6621

West Hawaii Today
Colleen Marshall
Medical/Health Reporter
75-5580 Kuakini Hwy
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Phone: (808) 329-9311

References

1. This refers to the fiscal year for the Federal Government which begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2003 begins on October 1, 2002 and ends on September 30, 2003.
2. S. Essoyan, "Sex Education Brochure at Middle School Protested," Honolulu (HI) Star-Bulletin News, November 22, 2002.
3. H. Bishop, "Sex Ed Furor Erupts at Middle School," Hawaii Tribune Herald, December 1, 2002.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. J. Hiller, "On Campus," The Honolulu (HI) Advertiser, January 2, 2003; J. Hiller, "Student Leaders Tackle School Issues," The Honolulu (HI) Advertiser, December 6, 2002.
8. Unless otherwise cited, all statistical information comes from: J. Grunbaum, et. al., "Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance - United States, 2001," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 51, no.SS-4, June 28, 2002, pp. 1-64. Available online at: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/yrbs/. Hawaii did not participate in the 2003 YRBS.
9. U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics: Overall Trends, Trends by Race and Ethnicity and State-by-State Information, (New York: Alan Guttmacher Institute, February, 2004). Available online at http://www.guttmacher.org.
10. A. Papillo, et.al., Facts at a Glance, (Washington, DC: Child Trends, February, 2004).
11. SIECUS was not able to obtain exact funding information for all grantees.