Did Pauahi define in her Will who could attend Kamehameha Schools?

• "devote a portion of each years income to the support and education of orphans, and others in indigent circumstances, giving the preference to Hawaiians of pure or part aboriginal blood;" and

• "I also give unto my said trustees full power to make all such rules and regulations as they may deem necessary for the government of said schools and to regulate the admission of pupils,..."

• "The noble minded Hawaiian chiefess who endowed the Kamehameha Schools, put no limitations of race or condition on her general bequest. Instruction will be given only in English language, but The Schools will be opened to all nationalities." (Prospectus of The Schools - December 23, 1885)

• "...the terms of the will do not exclude other nationalities from the employment of its privileges, if Hawaiians do not choose to avail themselves of the advantages offered to them." (Trustee Charles M. Hyde - April 1894)

• "Education of the natives was the first, but not the exclusive and perpetual purpose of the Founder of the Schools." (Charles Reed Bishop - February 20, 1901)

• "...it was decided that schools should be preferred, not for boys and girls of pure or part aboriginal blood exclusively, but that class should have preference; that is they should have the first right, provided, of course, that they took advantage of the opportunity and complied with the conditions and rules of the Will and of the Trustees of the Estate..." (Charles Reed Bishop letter to Samuel Damon, October 9, 1911)

• Pauahi foresaw "...that, in a few years the natives would have to compete with the other nationalities in all the ways open to them for getting an honest living; And so, in order that her own people might have the opportunity for fitting themselves for such competition, ...these schools were provided for, in which Hawaiians have the preference, and which she hoped they would value and take the advantages of as fully as possible." (Charles Reed Bishop address to KSB students, December 19, 1887)

• "...it was intended and expected that the Hawaiians having aboriginal blood would have preference, provided that those of suitable age, health, character and intellect should apply in numbers sufficient to make up a good school." (Charles Reed Bishop letter to Samuel Damon, March 15, 1901)

What did the will say about tuition?

• Pauahi's Will states that a portion of the estate's annual income devoted to support of orphans and indigents is to be determined solely by her trustees, "they to have full discretion." The Will also states that the trustees have full power "to determine if tuition shall be charged in any case." Both statements suggest that she did not intend Kamehameha Schools to be a charity school.

• The official prospectus of the school approved by the KS trustees December 23, 1885 supports the above view. The trustees deemed it "advisable that specific though moderate charges should be made for the advantages offered by The School,...the testator's designs being evidently not to establish an orphan asylum or a charity school." The Schools' earliest students paid more than 25% of the cost of their education.

• For the 1999-2000 school year, KS subsidized about 95% of KS K-12 students' tuition costs. Despite that, 2,277 K-12 students system-wide (about 65% of the 3,530 total students that year) received $3.8 million in additional financial aid.

What is the legal status of KS' admissions policy?

• Applicants of any racial or ethnic background are admitted, as long as they have at least one Hawaiian ancestor.

• The admissions policy does not exclude an individual of any particular racial or ethnic group as long as the Hawaiian ancestry requirement is met.

• Kamehameha students (past and present) belong to a wide variety of ethnic and racial groups including Caucasian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, African-American, Arabian, Native Alaskan and Native American.

• The IRS ruled on the admissions policy in July of 1975. It concluded then that the Trustees' policy was not indicative of racial discrimination.

• In its latest ruling in 1999, the IRS reaffirmed its 1975 ruling, finding that there were no significant changes of fact that would warrant a different conclusion.

• Currently there is a pending lawsuit which challenges the admissions policy. For more information access the "Admissions Policy Lawsuit" link at http://www.ksbe.edu/lawsuit.php.