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Two weeks ago, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), a nonprofit membership organization, launched KamehamehaNotFair.org, a website that examines the legality and fairness of the admissions policies of Kamehameha School.

It is our belief that this school should open its doors to all of Hawaii’s children, regardless of their race or national origin.

SFFA supports Kamehameha Schools’ historic mission to serve the children of Hawaii — especially those from modest financial backgrounds — by providing an education steeped in Hawaiian language, culture and stewardship.

What we do not support, and what federal civil rights law does not permit, is a racially exclusionary admissions policy that bars qualified children from attending solely because they lack Native Hawaiian ancestry.

SFFA wants to keep Kamehameha’s mission intact and strengthen it without sorting children by race. That is both the fair thing to do and, importantly, the lawful thing to do.

The controlling U.S. law is clear-cut. Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 guarantees to “all persons” the same right “to make and enforce contracts” as is enjoyed by white citizens.

Fifty years ago, the Supreme Court wrote that guarantee to apply fully to private education. Moreover, the Court has held that private schools violate Section 1981 when they deny admission to prospective students because of race and national origin and made explicit that Section 1981 protects whites as well as nonwhites.

These Supreme Court opinions form a clear rule: A private school may not exclude a qualified applicant because of race, regardless of which race is favored or disfavored.

Kamehameha’s admissions policy gives preference to all qualified applicants with Native Hawaiian ancestry before considering anyone else. In practice, this has operated as a categorical bar to students who are not Native Hawaiian.

Some argue that because Kamehameha’s policy pursues a “remedial” aim by narrowing educational disparities it should be judged differently. The Supreme Court has at times permitted narrowly tailored, time-limited affirmative-action plans in employment where a specific employer is remedying a manifest imbalance or recent discrimination in its own workforce. But Kamehameha has expressly disclaimed that its policy is an affirmative-action plan; it is not trying to diversify itself. It is a race bar adopted to affect outcomes in the broader community.

SFFA recognizes that Kamehameha was founded out of love for the Hawaiian people and a determination to lift up children in need. Opening admissions to all races does not betray that trust. It honors it in a way that is both moral and lawful.

The school can keep its identity, its curriculum, and its priorities without barring children of other races.

Some worry that moving away from an ancestry requirement will dilute Kamehameha’s cultural core. The opposite is more likely. A mission rooted in language, history and service thrives when it persuades, not excludes. The graduates who will do the most for the Hawaiian people are those who have earned their place by mastering the school’s curriculum and committing to its ideals.

SFFA’s position is not hostile to Native Hawaiian children; it is protective of them. Racial bars invite legal challenges, social division, and the false promise that ancestry rather than excellence and need should govern opportunity. The law demands a policy that treats every applicant as an individual while allowing institutions to pursue authentic educational purposes.

Kamehameha’s founders sought to nurture the young, relieve the poor, and strengthen Hawaii. Opening admissions to all races while preserving the founding mission of the school will better achieve those ends — and it will do so in a way that honors both Princess Pauahi’s generosity and one of the nation’s oldest civil-rights statute.

Our aim is not to change Kamehameha’s purpose. Our aim is to ensure that no qualified child is told “rejected” because of ancestry rather than the promise of merit and character.

Edward Blum is the founder and president of Students for Fair Admissions.

Editor’s note: For more on this issue, see 808ne.ws/kamehameha.