HI HR17

Hawaii House Resolution expresses support for Kamehameha Schools' admissions policy, which gives preference to Native Hawaiian students as established by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop's will.

The resolution urges Hawaii's Attorney General to file an amicus curiae brief defending the admissions policy in any future lawsuits challenging it.

The policy was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Doe v. Kamehameha Schools (2006) as a remedial measure addressing educational achievement gaps between Native Hawaiians and other ethnic groups.

The resolution asserts that the 2023 Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard does not apply to Kamehameha Schools because the institution is entirely privately funded.

Certified copies of the resolution are to be transmitted to the Governor, Attorney General, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Kamehameha Schools Board of Trustees.