On February 22, a U.S. federal appeals court moved to reconsider its previous ruling to strike down a contentious admissions policy at Hawai’i’s Kamehameha Schools, a highly regarded private institution with campuses on the islands of O’ahu, Hawai’i, and Maui.
The school’s traditional admissions policy gives preference to Native Hawai’ian students, but in August 2005, in a 2-1 vote, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the "Hawai’ians-first" admission policy, saying that it violated federal anti-discrimination laws.
Kamehameha Schools argues that its admissions policy, which has been in place since the institution was founded in 1884, falls under the rule of affirmative action, and is intended to address socioeconomic disadvantages prevalent in the community. According to Kamehameha’s Web site, "Education of the natives was the first, but not the exclusive and perpetual purpose of the Founder of the Schools."
The private institution is financed by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop’s estate’s $6.2 billion trust, whose mission is to educate and improve the capability and well-being of people of Hawai’ian ancestry. Because of the school’s history, and the fact that it receives no federal funding, Kamehameha and its supporters believe it is the institution’s prerogative to set its admission standards.
Kekoa Paulsen, Director of Community Relations for Kamehameha Schools, explained in an email interview that the case is "first and foremost about a private trust that was formed through the last will and testament of a Native Hawai’ian chiefess to address and rectify, through education, the social and economic imbalances suffered by her people."
Statistically, in relation to non-natives, Native Hawai’ians have lower levels of education, are over-represented among the poor and homeless, and under-represented in professional and managerial jobs, according to the Honolulu Advertiser. Compared to other private institutions in Hawai’i, Kamehameha Schools has relatively low tuition costs and offers substantial financial aid packages to families in need.
Paulsen said that the school’s policy of giving preference to Native Hawai’ian applicants "is designed to make sure those resources go first to those who need the remedy the most."
Kamehameha has been sued several times over its admissions policy—most recently in August 2005 after rejecting the application of an anonymous, non-native 12th-grade student.
John Goemans, the plaintiff’s Hawai’i-based attorney, believes that the school’s de facto rejection of students without Hawai’ian blood cannot be defended in the name of affirmative action and is blatant discrimination. "There’s no question that Kamehameha Schools has an illegal, unconstitutional, racial admissions policy," Goemans told the Associated Press.
Until the court rehears arguments in the case, Kamehameha’s original admissions policy will be allowed to stand.
