School Choice & Charters

Rule Favoring Native Descent Faces Appeal

By Catherine A. Carroll — January 07, 2004 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

A white student will be allowed to remain enrolled at the Kamehameha Schools, under a settlement of one of two legal challenges to the heavily endowed private institution’s native-Hawaiians-only admissions policy.

Meanwhile, an appeal is planned in the other case, which a federal judge decided in the schools’ favor.

The 6,000-student, pre-K-12 schools—spread across three campuses in Hawaii—were founded in 1887, before Hawaii became a U.S. territory, through the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. Her great-grandfather, Kamehameha I, had united the Hawaiian islands.

Concerned about the rising number of foreigners in positions of power in the islands and the sharp decline in the native population, the princess specified in her will that the schools were to give “preference to Hawaiians of pure or part aboriginal blood.”

The two lawsuits challenged the validity of the schools’ admissions guidelines under the Civil Rights Act of 1866, a Reconstruction-era statute that bars race discrimination in private contracts, which would include enrollment in private schools.

The suit that is headed for an appeal, Doe v. Kamehameha Schools, was filed in a federal court last June, two days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on two affirmative action cases involving admissions policies at University of Michigan and its law school. (“Justices Give K-12 Go-Ahead to Promote Diversity,” July 9, 2003.)

The high court ruled that the undergraduate policy, which allotted points for applicants’ various characteristics, including race, was unconstitutional. The law school case, Grutter v. Bollinger, was decided in favor of the school, conveying the court’s opinion that race-conscious admissions policies were acceptable in higher education, provided they involved individualized reviews of applicants.

Experts say that although the Michigan cases provide an interesting backdrop to the Kamehameha lawsuits, the Hawaii suits involve different circumstances, and that Grutter v. Bollinger should not influence the Doe case.

Remedy for Past Wrongs

The challenge to Kamehameha’s admissions policy involved an unidentified minor, John Doe, who was turned away from the school in August 2002 and again last August because of his lack of Hawaiian lineage. On Nov. 17, Senior U.S. District Judge Alan C. Kay, of Honolulu, upheld the institution’s admissions policy, citing several justifications for it.

First, Judge Kay noted, Kamehameha is a private institution and receives no federal funding. Second, the schools’ preferential admissions policy was designed to remedy the disadvantaged situation of native Hawaiians, he found. And he pointed out that the policy envisions that the schools will open up admissions to non-native Hawaiians when native Hawaiians’ need for education no longer exceeds the schools’ capacity.

Eric Grant, who represents students in both cases, has vowed to appeal Judge Kay’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, in San Francisco.

“I think the crucial aspect of Judge Kay’s decision is that what he has approved is segregation in our schools,” Mr. Grant said. “And I think that is an unfortunate return to a policy that the courts overturned decades ago.”

The case that has yielded a settlement, Mohica-Cummings v. Kamehameha Schools, which was filed Aug. 18, involves Brayden Mohica-Cummings, an applicant from Kapaa, on the island of Kauai.

Brayden, a 7th grader, was accepted to Kamehameha, but his admission was rescinded because he is not related by blood to his maternal grandfather—listed on his application as his link to Hawaiian ancestry.

The terms of the settlement allow the boy, who has been attending the school’s Kapalama campus since August under a court order, to attend Kamehameha through high school graduation, provided he remains “a student in good standing,” according to the schools’ Web site.

U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra, of Honolulu, approved the settlement Dec. 4. It is now headed for a Hawaii probate court for approval because the student is a minor.

Both sides in the case said they were pleased with the settlement.

“This means that this particular threat to our Hawaiian-preference admissions policy is eliminated,” says a statement on the schools’ Web site. “By settling this case, we believe we simplify the issues and improve our chances of winning [the Doe case] on appeal.”

Related Tags:

Events

Budget & Finance Webinar Leverage New Funding Sources with Data-Informed Practices
Address the whole child using data-informed practices, gain valuable insights, and learn strategies that can benefit your district.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
ChatGPT & Education: 8 Ways AI Improves Student Outcomes
Revolutionize student success! Don't miss our expert-led webinar demonstrating practical ways AI tools will elevate learning experiences.
Content provided by Inzata
Classroom Technology K-12 Essentials Forum Tech Is Everywhere. But Is It Making Schools Better?
Join us for a lively discussion about the ways that technology is being used to improve schools and how it is falling short.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Choice & Charters Approval of Nation's 1st Religious Charter School Will Spark Legal Battle
A state board voted 3-2 to approve the St. Isidore Catholic Virtual Academy, which will aim to open in fall 2024, pending a court battle.
5 min read
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond speaks during an interview, Feb. 1, 2023, in Oklahoma City. The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, a state school board in Oklahoma, voted Monday, June 5, to approve what would be the first publicly funded religious school in the nation, despite a warning from the state's attorney general that the decision was unconstitutional. Drummond had previously warned the board that such a decision clearly violated the Oklahoma Constitution.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond speaks during an interview, Feb. 1, 2023, in Oklahoma City. The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, a state school board in Oklahoma, voted Monday, June 5, to approve what would be the first publicly funded religious charter school in the nation, despite Drummond previously warning the board that such a decision violates the Oklahoma Constitution.
Sue Ogrocki/AP
School Choice & Charters Charter Schools Are Outperforming Traditional Public Schools: 6 Takeaways From a New Study
Researchers who have analyzed charter school performance since 2000 now find that charters are outpacing traditional public schools.
6 min read
Image of performance data analysis.
NicoElNino/iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters Charter Schools Now Outperform Traditional Public Schools, Sweeping Study Finds
Researchers who have studied the evolution of charter schools over two decades find that their performance has improved over time.
7 min read
Achievement First charter school is seen Saturday, March 7, 2020, in Providence, R.I.
Achievement First charter school is seen Saturday, March 7, 2020, in Providence, R.I. A new study from researchers who have analyzed charter school performance over two decades finds that the publicly funded, independently run schools are now outperforming traditional public schools.
David Goldman/AP
School Choice & Charters Opinion What the Heck Are Microschools?
Microschooling aims to create a more active learning environment for students than what's found in traditional school systems.
7 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty