Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld

[lelei]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld....

They didn't just contemplate raising the percentage. KS actually raised the percentage of the orphan/indigent category to 29% of all students admitted beginning in the 2005-2006 school year. Our understanding is that this percentage will not decrease, and may even increase.

It has been KS policy FOR YEARS to limit the above kinds of Hawaiian kids to 15% of their student base. And they have contemplated raising that number to 25%.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld....

They didn't just contemplate raising the percentage. KS actually raised the percentage of the orphan/indigent category to 29% of all students admitted beginning in the 2005-2006 school year. Our understanding is that this percentage will not decrease, and may even increase.

I heard something similar to this yesterday from someone who works inside Kawaiaha'o Plaza.

29% is still an "F".

[kamuelakea]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld....

What is Kamehamehas definition of indigent or orphan?

Is it loss of BOTH parents?

Or just one?

I don't know. Curious.

[alohabear]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld....

The SAD thing about this is that KSBE only takes the elite Hawaiians and not all Kanaka Maoli like the Princess intended. KSBE! Get rid of the enterence exams! Help ALL the Hawaiian children.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld....

Let's try this again. I am attempting to attach a pdf of the en banc ruling. It is 110 pages long. Read for yourselves how KS' defense is built:

pp. 19059
But the admissions policy is not an absolute bar to non-Native Hawaiians; instead, it is intended to last only for so long as Native Hawaiians suffer educational disadvantages.

(at 29%, how effective is KS going to be at making a dent?)

The next four pages are all about Native Hawaiian children lagging, scoring below average, disproportionately represented in special ed, blah blah.

pp. 19078 starts to get really interesting:
1. Respond to a Manifest Imbalance [11] To meet the first modified Johnson factor, a private school must demonstrate that, in the relevant community, specific, significant imbalances in educational achievement presently affect the group favored by its admissions policy. The relevantcommunity in this case is the state of Hawaii, because the Schools serve students from all of Hawaii’s islands. We therefore consider whether a manifest imbalance in current educational achievement exists between Native Hawaiians and other ethnic groups in Hawaii.

Native Hawaiian students are systemically disadvantaged in the classroom. As we described earlier, there is a substantial disparity in performance between Native Hawaiian students and other ethnic groups. Briefly, Native Hawaiian students score lower on standardized tests than all other ethnic groups in the state, Ka Huakai at 229, 261, are more likely to be in special education classes, id. at 278, are more likely to be absent from school, id. at 229, and are more likely to attend poor-quality schools, id. at 252. Native Hawaiians are the least likely of the state’s major ethnic groups to graduate from high school, id. at 229, 285, and they are less likely than their non-Hawaiian counterparts to attend college, id. at 118-19. Congresshas expressly recognized the educational disadvantages suffered by Native Hawaiians and their marginalized status. 20 U.S.C. § 7512.

In view of those facts and congressional findings, it is clear that a manifest imbalance exists in the K-12 educational arena in the state of Hawaii, with Native Hawaiians falling at the bottom of the spectrum in almost all areas of educational progress and success.

Furthermore, it is precisely this manifest imbalance that the Kamehameha Schools’ admissions policy seeks to address.The goal is to bring Native Hawaiian students into educational parity with other ethnic groups in Hawaii. The stated purpose of Kamehameha Schools is to create educational opportunities to improve the capability and well-being of
Native Hawaiians and to cultivate, nurture, and perpetuate Hawaiian culture, values, history, and language.

=====================================
The more I read the en banc doc, the more I want to throw up at the hypocrisy of basing a defense 100% on the poor Hawaiians, but damned if their real life practice is to cap those undesirables at 29%!!

People, we need to hold the trustees accountable.

[alohabear]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld....

The more I read the en banc doc, the more I want to throw up at the hypocrisy of basing a defense 100% on the poor Hawaiians, but damned if their real life practice is to cap those undesirables at 29%!!

People, we need to hold the trustees accountable.

KSBE is basically calling Natve children dumber than other ethnic groups, but their admissions policy doesn't help ALL THE KEIKI....AUWE!!

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld....

Reminder: This ruling could (and probably will) be appealed to SCOTUS.

Such a tiny percentage of cases appealed to the Supreme Court actually makes it onto their docket - somewhere in the range of a half of a percent. The fact that this case was already reviewed by a 15-member en banc court will likely work against it.

[timkona]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld....

How is it that only Hawaiian students are disadvantaged by the public school system??

I wonder if Martin Luther King would approve of race based decisions??

I wonder if Hitler would approve of race based decisions??

I can see White Supremacy Groups all across the nation applauding this decision. It will be the precedent by which they can start private schools, exclusive to White Students.

It might take a while, but I guess I can get used to racism if I'm forced.

[Keith H.]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld....

Such a tiny percentage of cases appealed to the Supreme Court actually makes it onto their docket - somewhere in the range of a half of a percent. The fact that this case was already reviewed by a 15-member en banc court will likely work against it.

Dunno about that. The fact that said en banc panel reversed a smaller panel's 2-1 finding with a mere 8-7 majority, plus the fact that it's related to affirmative action and going before a conservative-leaning SCOTUS, probably increases its chances of being heard.

[pzarquon]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld

Indeed, didn't the Supreme Court this week take on two cases, both focused on racial segregation and race-based preferences in schools? I think this is a hot topic that they've demonstrated keen interest in exploring. Then again, perhaps the ruling in the two current cases may render speculation about the KSBE case moot.

ETA: Here's the Nina Totenberg segment I heard on NPR. As soon as I heard the arguments, I knew people would be able to pull out comments from both the justices and from those arguing the case that would be relevant to Kamehameha Schools, even if the cases are about attempts to increase diversification rather than racial admission preferences.

Supreme Court to Weigh Schools' Racial Plans

The Supreme Court re-enters the world of school desegregation on Monday. In cases from Louisville, Ky., and Seattle, the justices will examine what, if any, steps school boards may use to ensure that schools are racially mixed.

There was also a "Talk of the Nation" roundtable about the case:

Supreme Court and School Diversity

Today, the issues of race, schools, and affirmative action go before the Supreme Court. Guests take a look at what the decision might mean where you live, and two lawyers argue for and against considering race as a factor in admission to public schools.

I didn't listen to it yet, but I'm curious if any of the commentators are aware of the KSBE case.

[Keith H.]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld

I didn't listen to it yet, but I'm curious if any of the commentators are aware of the KSBE case.

If not, then I really think they will be. NPR has devoted airtime to the Kamehameha controversy in the past.

[Kahalu'u Kid]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld....

As a staunch supporter of Hawaiian rights, I celebrate this decision.

I'm with you 150% on this one.

I have always said, justice will prevail for Hawaiians not because America is evil but because America is the greatest country on Earth and has shown herself the best country in human history to recognize, admit and rectify past mistakes.

You lost me on this one. Off topic for a sec, but for example, how will the US government rectify the torture tactics at Guantanamo, etc.? (Pres. Bush actually legalized torture tactics recently, by signing an anti-terrorism bill which will allow it. Despite torture being a violation of international law.) The US has acknowledged the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, but what has been done to rectify this? What has America done to rectify dropping 2 nuclear bombs on Japan? In more recent history, what has the US done to rectify the problem of civilian deaths and rapes due to our military in Okinawa, Kadena, and the other bases in Japan? A problem that's been going on for decades now.

I think justice will prevail for Hawaiians only if they can band together, iron out their differences, and present a unified front with clear goals and objectives. But Hawaiians have to stand up and fight for justice, then I believe they will prevail. Until then, if they're waiting for America to do something, they'll be waiting til the end of time.

Imua Kamehameha.
Imua Hawaii.

And I'm with you 150% on these too. Aloha.

[Kahalu'u Kid]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld

I just read the article in the Advertiser. I was disappointed by the attitude of one of the judges who voted against Kamehameha. He said, and I quote, "What's so great about having a school where everybody you meet is just like you?" WHAT?!!?!?!

I'm amazed that someone with such a high position in our judicial system has such a narrow-minded, ignorant outlook. It harks back to the days of "y'all blacks are all the same," or "y'all natives are all the same." I guarantee you this judge was one haole, guarantee. Totally incapable of understanding native culture, probably cuz he has no pride in his native culture whatever it may be. If there's ignorant people like this, that high up in our system, then we definitely have to stand up strong for everything that will benefit Hawaiians and Hawaii. Aloha.

[Miulang]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld

Yes, the kanaka maoli have been given another chance to right the wrongs that were done, but I think they have to battle this from another angle the next time a lawsuit is filed (and my guess is that there will be more lawsuits like this filed in the future).

The notion of using race as a way to defend the admission policies of KSBE is probably not going to work for very much longer as the kanaka maoli bloodlines become even more diluted. A couple of things that I got out of reading the decision were 1) this court affirmed the fact that the Kingdom of Hawai'i was seized illegally (this was officially acknowledged by the apology the US government delivered in 1993) and 2) the student had other viable alternatives to obtaining his education (and I still truly believe the only reason the lawsuit was filed was because the parents of the student wanted him to have a subsidized education at a private school).

Using race as a way to obtain parity could be construed as discrimination, but using one's nationality and political status can apparently still be used to try to get one particular nationality to parity with others. So because the Kingdom of Hawai'i was seized illegally in 1893, then all the subjects of the Kingdom of Hawai'i were illegally made subjects of the US, and because of that, they were deprived of their language and their culture. So in order for that nationality to be restored to the same level as all others, the US government will allow (however long it takes to achieve parity), certain programs to only include a certain class of people. This makes perfect sense to me. And given the previous discussion about quantums (an arbitrary method to determine one's nationality) and what constitutes an orphan or destitute child according to the terms of the Princess' will, it might even make sense for KSBE to expand the admission policy to include any descendant of any citizen of the Kingdom of Hawai'i as of 1893 (and there are lists in existence of those naturalized Hawaiian citizens), which would include kanaka maoli and non-kanaka maoli citizens. In doing that, they would immediately be free of the race question, because there were non-kanaka maoli citizens of the Kingdom in 1893, too.

Miulang

[timkona]

Re: Kamehameha Schools Admissions Policy Upheld

Does anybody want to answer the question about how it is that ONLY Hawaiian students are disadvantaged by the public school system??

Or is it just "too hot to handle".??/???>>>???>>>>?????

I have said repeatedly that liberals are the racists in America. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is VERY liberal. And here they are reinforcing the idea that racism stem from, and is fostered by, liberal philosophy. While other liberals applaud the decision in this very forum.

The truth is a killer.