Hawaii School Institutes Plan To Teach Tolerance

ACLU News Wire: February 2, 1999 — Hawaii School Institutes Plan To Teach Tolerance

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WAILUKU, HI — Facing a federal investigation into the racial harassment of an African American student, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported today that the Iao Intermediate School is integrating a curriculum to teach racial tolerance into its classrooms.

Among other course addendums, during the month of February, eighth graders will focus on America’s civil rights movement to celebrate black history month.

Sandy Ma, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union in Hawaii, told the Star-Bulletin that she was pleased with the school’s new educational curriculum. The ACLU was one of many civil liberties groups who had expressed great concerns over racially motivated incidents at the school.

“I’m glad [the principal] is putting together a plan to teach tolerance,” Ma told the paper.

The U.S. Department of Education’s office for civil rights is investigating a complaint from the mother of an eighth grader about incidents of racial harassment which took place last fall, the paper said.

The principal told the Star-Bulletin that a school staff committee is working towards developing a comprehensive plan to teach diversity which will focus not only on the issue of race, but on other forms of discrimination.

Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin, February 2, 1999