Legal Discrimination in the Aloha State Under Attack

"Citing "tradition," a private school in the Aloha State refuses admission to whites in favor of anyone who it judges to be a "Native Hawaiian." But things may change. The group that brought down affirmative action at Harvard in front of the Supreme Court now has its sights set on forcing equal admission policy on Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii. This is one of the latest battles over how to right old wrongs, and whether modern discrimination is the answer to historic discrimination."

"The Arlington, Virginia-based group launched a website seeking plaintiffs to contest Kamehameha's policy, saying the preference is discriminatory and unlawful. The group asks, "Is your child barred from Kamehameha Schools based on ancestry? It is essentially impossible for a non-Native Hawaiian student to be admitted to Kamehameha. We believe that focus on ancestry, rather than merit or need, is neither fair nor legal, and we are committed to ending Kamehameha's unlawful admissions policies in court.""

Kamehameha Schools is a private K-12 system established by the will of a Hawaiian princess to serve Native Hawaiian children. The school has maintained a 140-year-old admissions policy favoring students with documented Hawaiian ancestry. Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) has launched a legal challenge, seeking plaintiffs and arguing that the ancestry-based preference is discriminatory and unlawful. SFFA previously won Supreme Court cases in June 2023 and secured a settlement with the Department of Defense ending race-based admissions at West Point and the Air Force Academy. The prior rulings raised questions about whether race can be a factor in admissions and whether such policies violate federal law.

Read at The American Conservative