Solution to KS' doomed admissions policy: Instead of bribing another round of plaintiffs with millions of trust dollars, change the admission cut-off year from 1778 to 1893. Rather than admiting only the descendants of peoples here in 1778, admit all descendants of loyal subjects of the Hawaiian Kingdom regardless of ethnicity. Instead of being an ethnic project, the student body would become a truer reflection of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
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Is your child barred from Kamehameha Schools based on ancestry?
KamehamehaNotFair.org
News Release from Students for Fair Admissions, Sept, 2025
Kamehameha Schools is a great school system, but its admissions policy expressly prefers students with Native Hawaiian ancestry over non-Native Hawaiian students. In fact, that preference is so strong that it is essentially impossible for a non-Native Hawaiian student to be admitted to Kamehameha. We believe that focus on ancestry, rather than merit or need, is neither fair nor legal, and we are committed to ending Kamehameha’s unlawful admissions policies in court.
If your child has been denied admission to Kamehameha, we want to hear from you. If you are interested in having your child apply to Kamehameha but effectively cannot because it discriminates against non-native Hawaiians, we want to hear from you.
Please fill out the form below. After doing so, we also encourage you to join our organization, Students for Fair Admissions.
About
KamehamehaNotFair.org is an undertaking by Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. Founded in 2014, SFFA is a nonprofit membership group of more than 20,000 students, parents, and others who believe that racial and ethnic classifications and preferences in admissions are unfair, unnecessary, and unconstitutional. Our mission is to support and participate in litigation that challenges racial and ethnic classifications in court and will restore the original principles of our nation’s civil rights movement.
Since our founding, SFFA has provided counsel in several important federal lawsuits, including Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina, in which the Supreme Court barred the consideration of race in university admissions. Visit Students for Fair Admissions to learn more about our mission and activities.
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E ʻOnipa‘a Kākou: Protecting Pauahi’s Legacy Together
News Release from Kamehameha Schools
Aloha nō e ka ʻohana o Kamehameha, Sept 4, 2025
We write to you in the spirit of aloha, pono, and wiwoʻole.
We anticipated that our nearly 140-year-old admissions policy, providing preference to Native Hawaiian children, would again be challenged. It appears that moment is upon us. Ke Kula ʻo Kamehameha is being confronted by a national organization mobilizing opposition to our policy. We want to assure you that our kula and operational leaders are prepared and committed to vigorously defending the vision of Ke Ali‘i Pauahi. We are confident that our policy aligns with established law, and we will prevail.
The road ahead will be long, but as Ke Aliʻi Pauahi did in her time, let us turn to our faith in Ke Akua, in Hawaiʻi’s ancestors and traditions, and in our lāhui, to grant us the strength and guidance needed as we stand firmly to protect what is pono.
Your strength and kōkua will be essential in this fight. We will be reaching out soon with ways you can stand with us. Just as we did decades ago when Ke Aliʻi Pauahi’s will was challenged, now again is the time for us to ʻonipaʻa and unite as a lāhui, for Ke Ali‘i Pauahi, and for generations of keiki and moʻopuna to come.
I mua e nā pōkiʻi, a inu i ka wai ʻawaʻawa. ʻAʻohe hope e hoʻi mai ai.
Me ke aloha a me ka ʻoiaʻiʻo,
Board of Trustees
Crystal Rose, Chair
Noelani Goodyear-Kaʻōpua, Vice Chair
Michelle Kaʻuhane, Secretary/Treasurer
Elliot Mills
Chief Executive Officer, Jack Wong
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Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees Statement in Solidarity with Kamehameha Schools
News Release from OHA, Sept 4, 2025
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees stands in unwavering solidarity with Kamehameha Schools and its enduring mission to uplift Native Hawaiians through education grounded in Hawaiian values, identity, and ʻāina-based stewardship.
The recent campaign launched by an organization based in Arlington, Virginia—with no connection or commitment to Hawaiʻi—is not only a direct affront to the will and legacy of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, but also an attack on the right of Native Hawaiians to care for our own, on our own terms.
Kamehameha Schools is a private educational institution established through the will of Princess Pauahi, a high chiefess and direct descendant of Hawaiʻi’s first king, Kamehameha the Great. In her wisdom and foresight, she dedicated her vast estate to the education and betterment of her people. That legacy has provided generations of Hawaiian children with the opportunity to thrive—rooted in culture, grounded in community, and prepared to lead.
OHA, as a fellow Native Hawaiian-serving trust, shares a parallel kuleana: to steward the resources entrusted to us prudently, purposefully, and always in service to our beneficiaries. This kuleana includes defending our institutions, lands, and trusts from external efforts that seek to undermine their purpose, integrity, and rightful independence.
As a lāhui, we must remain vigilant. These attacks are not new—but they are escalating. They aim to dismantle the hard-won protections that enable our people to heal, rise, and chart our future. It is incumbent upon all who believe in justice, equity, and self-determination to defend Princess Pauahi’s legacy and condemn efforts to erase the progress Native Hawaiians have fought for over generations.
We call upon our community, allies, and all who stand for indigenous rights to reject this harmful narrative and to speak clearly and boldly:
Princess Pauahi’s will must be protected. Our trusts must be respected. Our futures must be self-determined.
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COVERAGE: