Ninth Circuit rules Hawaiian school cannot limit enrollment to natives only News
Ninth Circuit rules Hawaiian school cannot limit enrollment to natives only

[JURIST] A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] in San Francisco has overturned a lower court ruling and struck down a Hawaiian school's policy of only admitting native Hawaiians as students, even though the school receives no federal money. The court found [PDF opinion] that the Kamehameha Schools [education website] policy violated 42 USC 1981 [text], which forbids racial discrimination in making and enforcing contracts. The state contended that the restriction was necessary to remedy economic and educational disadvantages suffered by natives. The plaintiff, an unnamed student refused admission in 2003, plans to start 12th grade at the school in the fall. An appeal to the US Supreme Court is planned. Read a Kamehameha Schools press statement on the ruling. AP has more.