HCR122 • 2026

REQUESTING THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII TO CONSIDER OFFERING OLELO HAWAII MICRO-CREDENTIALS FOCUSING ON OLELO NIIHAU.

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: KILA
Last action: 2026-05-08
Official status: Received notice of Adoption in House (Hse. Com. No. 891).
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not explicitly mention encouraging the University of Hawaii to support native speakers of the Niihau dialect in preserving their language.

Request for Hawaiian Language Micro-Credentials

This resolution asks the University of Hawaii to consider offering micro-credentials in the Hawaiian language, focusing on the Niihau dialect.

What This Bill Does

Asks the University of Hawaii to think about creating a program that gives certificates for learning and teaching the Hawaiian language, specifically focusing on the Niihau dialect.

Who It Names or Affects

University of Hawaii
Native speakers and learners of the Niihau dialect

Terms To Know

Micro-credentials: Small certificates that show someone has learned a specific skill or knowledge.
Niihau Dialect: A unique form of the Hawaiian language spoken on Niihau island, distinct from other forms of Hawaiian.

Limits and Unknowns

The resolution is a request and does not require the University to take any specific action.
It does not provide funding for creating such programs or micro-credentials.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: HCR122 SD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.C.R.

HCR122 SD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.C.R.
NO.
122 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 S.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII TO consider offering OLELO HAWAII micro-credentials focusing on Olelo Niihau.

Bill History

2026-05-08 S
Received notice of Adoption in House (Hse. Com. No. 891).
2026-05-08 H
Resolution adopted in final form.
2026-05-08 H
Adopted as amended in SD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Hussey, Kong, Quinlan excused (3).
2026-05-08 H
House agrees to Senate amendment(s).
2026-05-06 H
One (1) day notice, Friday, 05-08-26.
2026-04-23 H
Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 734) in amended form (SD 1).
2026-04-23 S
Report and Resolution Adopted, as amended (SD 1). Transmitted to House.
2026-04-22 S
One Day Notice 04-23-26.
2026-04-22 S
Reported from EDU/HWN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3871) with recommendation of adoption, as amended (SD 1).
2026-04-20 S
The committee(s) on EDU recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDU were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Kim, Fukunaga, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Kidani, Hashimoto.
2026-04-20 S
The committee(s) on HWN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in HWN were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) Richards, Lamosao, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Ihara, Keohokalole.
2026-04-17 S
The committee(s) on EDU/HWN has scheduled a public hearing on 04-20-26 1:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.
2026-04-10 S
Referred to EDU/HWN.
2026-04-10 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 567).
2026-04-09 H
Transmitted to Senate.
2026-04-09 H
Adopted with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1).
2026-04-09 H
Reported from JHA (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1876-26), recommending adoption.
2026-04-07 H
The committee on JHA recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Tarnas, Poepoe, Belatti, Hashem, Kahaloa, Takayama, Garcia, Shimizu; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Sayama, Cochran.
2026-04-02 H
Resolution scheduled to be heard by JHA on Tuesday, 04-07-26 2:00PM in conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-03-31 H
Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on JHA with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Nakamura, Perruso excused (2).
2026-03-31 H
Reported from HED (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1572-26), recommending referral to JHA.
2026-03-25 H
The committee on HED recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Garrett, Amato, Kapela, Kila, La Chica, Olds, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 3 Excused: Representative(s) Evslin, Woodson, Muraoka.
2026-03-23 H
Resolution scheduled to be heard by HED on Wednesday, 03-25-26 2:30PM in conference room 309 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-03-18 H
Referred to HED, JHA, referral sheet 19
2026-03-16 H
Offered

Official Summary Text

REQUESTING THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII TO CONSIDER OFFERING OLELO HAWAII MICRO-CREDENTIALS FOCUSING ON OLELO NIIHAU.
UH; Olelo Hawaii; Micro-credentials; Niihau Dialect

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HCR122

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

122

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the University of Hawaii to allow an Olelo
hawaii pathway under the niihau dialect
.

����
WHEREAS, Olelo
Hawaii is a unique marker of Hawaiian identity and the proud heritage of the
Hawaiian people; and

����
WHEREAS, native
speakers of the Niihau dialect come from a genealogy of continued use of
Hawaiian as their primary language of cognition; and

����
WHEREAS, except
for Niihau, Hawaiian pronunciation among native speakers on all islands
underwent a period of conformance to the English alphabet; and

����
WHEREAS, even
when the medium of education on Niihau eventually shifted to English, families
on the island continued to use Olelo Niihau as their primary language; and

����
WHEREAS, the
isolation of the Niihau community has allowed Olelo Niihau to flourish as its
own dialect, significantly distinct from the Olelo Hawaii commonly found in
immersion schools and mainstream educational settings; and

����
WHEREAS, various
state agencies have continually acknowledged and supported Olelo Niihau as a
dialect distinct from Olelo Hawaii, primarily by providing live interpreters to
facilitate communication between Olelo Niihau speakers and health providers,
schools, and other community institutions; and

����
WHEREAS, the
level of competence which native speakers of Olelo Niihau possess even today is
a testament to the formidable instinct of the Niihua community to preserve
their connection to the Hawaiian language of their ancestors; and

����
WHEREAS, there
is emerging external pressure to integrate newly invented vocabulary and
concepts produced by new speakers of the Hawaiian language on to the Niihau
community; and

����
WHEREAS, pressure
to instill new linguistic characteristics on Niihau youth, whose language has
been learned from their kupuna, risks attrition of Olelo Niihau by
interpolation; and

����
WHEREAS, simultaneously,
Hawaiian language revitalization initiatives have largely moved away from consulting
Niihau community members as language resources; and

����
WHEREAS, Hawaiian
language initiatives from outside of the Niihau community have enjoyed the
support of legislation and policy by this body, while the specific linguistic
needs of the Niihua community have been ignored or dismissed; now, therefore,

����
BE IT
RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the
State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, the Senate concurring, that the
University of Hawaii is requested to allow an Olelo Hawaii Pathway
concentrating specifically on Olelo Niihau; and

����
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the
President of the University of Hawaii System.

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:
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UH;
Olelo Hawaii Language Pathway; Niihau Dialect