9th Circuit: Kamehameha Schools Discriminate Illegally

Today the 9th Circuit reversed a summary judgment in favor of Hawaii's famous Kamehameha Schools, ruling that their de facto policy of admitting only students of native Hawaiian descent violates 42 U.S.C. section 1981.

Since 1887, the Kamehameha Schools have operated as the
charitable legacy of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last
direct descendant of King Kamehameha I. Private and nonsectarian,
the Kamehameha Schools give preference to students
who are of native Hawaiian ancestry. As a result of this
policy, attendance at the Kamehameha Schools is effectively
limited to those descended from the Hawaiian race. The issue
considered here is a significant one in our statutory civil rights
law: May a private, nonsectarian, commercially operated
school, which receives no federal funds, purposefully exclude
a student qualified for admission solely because he is not of
pure or part aboriginal blood?

The court held that such a school may not do so. The court's opinion is Doe v. Kamehameha Schools, No. 04-15044 (9th Cir. 2005).

UPDATE: From The Washington Post: Hawaiian School Admissions Policy Nixed