Kamehameha Schools was established by the estate of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who died in 1884. In her will, the great-granddaughter of King Kamehameha I established a private educational trust. Revenue from more than 300,000 acres of Hawai'i land and investments worldwide is used to finance Kamehameha Schools' 600-acre Kapalama campus in Honolulu and smaller campuses in Hilo and on Maui. Kamehameha Schools, formerly known as Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate, is worth an estimated $6 billion.

Admission to Kamehameha Schools is competitive; students are evaluated on everything from grades to essays, standardized test scores and interviews. Under the Hawaiians-first policy, if there are not enough Hawaiian applicants who met the criteria, qualified non-Hawaiian applicants are considered.

Yesterday's court decision said the will does not specify that only Native Hawaiians can enroll, but it says a portion of the trust's annual income should go to "the support and education of orphans, and others in indigent circumstances, giving the preference to Hawaiians of pure or part aboriginal blood."