Boy sues Kamehameha
By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
Lawyers for a Kaua'i boy whose acceptance to Kamehameha Schools for the coming school year was rescinded last week after his mother failed to show that at least one of her parents was of Hawaiian ancestry will ask today for a federal court order forcing the schools to accept the student.
John Goemans of the Big Island and Eric Grant of Sacramento, Calif., filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court yesterday on behalf of Brayden Mohica-Cummings, and his mother, Kalena Santos, asking that the judge declare unconstitutional what they say is the school's "Hawaiians-only" admissions policy.
Colleen Wong, Kamehameha Schools acting chief executive officer, issued a statement saying Mohica-Cummings' invitation to attend the school was rescinded after school officials discovered "misleading and inaccurate documentation to verify Hawaiian ancestry was submitted" on the boy's behalf.
U.S. District Judge David Ezra has scheduled the hearing for 2:45 p.m.
The lawsuit filed yesterday marked the second time Goemans and Grant have taken aim at the Kamehameha Schools admissions policy in recent months. On June 26, the two filed a lawsuit on behalf of an unidentified student challenging the admissions policy as racial discrimination that violates federal civil rights law.
Goemans and Grant could not be reached yesterday to say if the two lawsuits were filed on behalf of the same student.
The lawsuit claims that the Mohica-Cummings applied last September for admission to the seventh grade as a boarder at the school's Kapalama campus and that his mother received a letter in April telling her that her son had been selected for admission for the 2003-2004 school year.
The boy underwent a required physical examination in hopes of participating in a football program and received a letter from a Kamehameha Middle School dormitory advisor that his room was ready and to check in between 8:30 to 9 a.m. yesterday morning, the suit said. The boy had made reservations with his mother to fly from Kaua'i to O'ahu this past Friday to be ready for the dorm check-in, according to the lawsuit.
The boy had been assigned a locker, and an eighth-grade student had been assigned to him as a big brother to show him around the school, according to the lawsuit.
But the boy's plans to attend Kamehameha Schools began to unravel when the school sent a letter dated Aug. 8 threatening to rescind its offer of admission if his mother could not prove one of her birth parents was of Hawaiian ancestry, according to the lawsuit. And in a letter dated Aug. 13, the school rescinded its acceptance of the boy as a student at Kamehameha Schools, the suit said.
The lawsuit asks for a court ruling that the school's admissions policy of giving preference to children of Hawaiian ancestry violates federal anti-discrimination laws, and that rescinding Mohica-Cummings' invitation to attend the school was illegal.
It also asks for a permanent court order prohibiting the schools from continuing to implement an admissions policy that gives a preference on the basis of "Hawaiian ancestry and for an order that would require the schools to admit Mohica-Cummings.
In her statement, Wong said the decision to "rescind the invitation aligns with Kamehameha Schools' admissions preference policy, which we believe is consistent with applicable law.
"The policy is consistent with the desires of Princess Pauahi and Kamehameha Schools' mission to provide educational opportunities to improve the capability and well-being of people of Hawaiian ancestry," Wong said.
She said families are expected to provide "verifiable information" on behalf of students who apply for admission to the school.
Three years ago, Goemans and other lawyers represented Harold "Freddy" Rice in his challenge of Hawaiians-only voting for trustees of the state's Office of Hawaiian Affairs. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "Native Hawaiian" is a racial and not a political or tribal status. As a result, all Hawai'i voters now may cast votes for OHA trustees.
Kamehameha Schools generated a loud protest from alumni and Native Hawaiian activists last year when it admitted a non-Hawaiian eighth-grader to the Maui campus.
Critics accused the school of not doing enough to encourage Native Hawaiian applicants. This year Kamehameha returned to its Hawaiians-only policy.
During the admissions season for the current school year, Kamehameha Schools' recruitment campaign was designed to attract more Native Hawaiian applicants for the Neighbor Island campuses as they expand their enrollment.
Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030.
