The appeals court yesterday denied the first request by the lawyers for an injunction that would order the private institution to enroll the boy for his senior year. Classes start later this week for Kamehameha's Maui campus and next week on the school's Kapalama and Big Island campuses.

The court said the lawyers could refile the request, but only after the case is returned to the district court. The process, legal observers say, could take a year or longer.

The boy's lawyers, Eric Grant of Sacramento and John Goemans of the Big Island, are seeking a court order to enroll the boy based on the appeals court's 2-1 decision last week. The majority ruled that the school's admissions policy is unlawful race discrimination because it bars non-Native Hawaiians from Kamehameha.

The lawyers said in their new request that the appeals court should transfer the case back to the district court right away so that they can ask for a court order to enroll the boy.

They said their client would suffer "irreparable harm" because the school plans to challenge the 2-1 decision, which would "indefinitely" delay the return of the case to the district court.

The lawyers said this is the final chance for the youth to get into the school.