EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS ADMISSIONS POLICY AND URGING THE HAWAII ATTORNEY GENERAL TO SUBMIT AN AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF TO DEFEND THE ADMISSIONS POLICY IN ANY FUTURE LAWSUIT.

HR17

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

17

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS ADMISSIONs
POLICY AND URGING THE HAWAII ATTORNEY GENERAL TO SUBMIT AN AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF to
DEFENd THE admissions POLICY in any future lawsuit.

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WHEREAS, Princess
Bernice Pauahi Paki Bishop, the last royal descendant of the Kamehameha
dynasty, established Kamehameha Schools under the terms of her will; and

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WHEREAS, the
Princess intended that children of Native Hawaiian ancestry be given a
preference for admission to the schools; and

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WHEREAS, the
admissions preference for Native Hawaiian students today is a remedial measure rooted
in the historical injustices suffered by Native Hawaiians, including the
overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, the seizure of lands, and the
suppression of Hawaiian language and culture, and is intended to bring Native
Hawaiian students into educational parity with other ethnic groups in Hawaii;
and

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WHEREAS, the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in
Doe v. Kamehameha Schools/Bernice Pauahi
Bishop Estate
, 470 F.3d 827 (9th Cir. 2006), upheld the legality of the
admissions policy under a three factor test:

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(1)
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The policy serves as a response to a manifest
imbalance in current educational achievement between Native Hawaiians and other
ethnic groups in Hawaii;

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(2)
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The policy does not unnecessarily trammel the
rights of students with non-Hawaiian ancestry,
or create an absolute bar to their advancement; and

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(3)
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The policy does no more than is necessary to
correct the manifest imbalance suffered by students of Native Hawaiian ancestry;
and

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WHEREAS, the
recent decision in
Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and
Fellows of Harvard College
, 600 U.S. 181 (2023), which struck down
race-conscious admissions policies at federally funded universities, does not
apply to Kamehameha Schools, which is entirely privately funded and operates
under a separate legal framework; and

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WHEREAS, the
current challenge to Kamehameha Schools' admissions policy announced by
Students for Fair Admissions, a mainland-based organization with no historical
or cultural ties to Hawaii, represents a renewed attempt to undermine the
legacy of the Princess; and

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WHEREAS, the
Kamehameha Schools admissions policy is not only legal but also morally and
culturally essential to the survival and flourishing of Native Hawaiian
identity, education, and self-determination; and

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WHEREAS, the
Office of Hawaiian Affairs and other Native Hawaiian institutions have affirmed
that the challenge to the Kamehameha Schools admissions policy is part of a
broader pattern of attacks on Native Hawaiian rights and protections; now,
therefore,

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BE IT
RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the
State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, that this body expresses its support
for the Kamehameha Schools admissions policy; and

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BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the Legislature urges the Attorney General of the State of Hawaii
to file in any applicable lawsuit an amicus curiae brief defending the
constitutionality and cultural necessity of the Kamehameha Schools admissions
policy; and

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BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the
Governor, the Attorney General, the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office
of Hawaiian Affairs, and the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Kamehameha
Schools.

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:
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Kamehameha
Schools; Admissions Policy; Attorney General