Honolulu and a national private-schools organization yesterday joined a growing list of government and private entities that support a request by Kamehameha Schools for judges to rehear the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that struck down the school's policy that bars non-Native Hawaiian students.

Kamehameha Schools is requesting that a larger panel of the appeals court's judges rehear the case. In a 2-1 ruling Aug. 2, the appeals panel said the school's policy of admitting only students with Hawaiian blood violates civil rights laws.

The court has until Sept. 13 to vote on the motion or to request an opinion from the original three judges on whether to rehear the case, according to a Kamehameha Schools spokesman.

On Tuesday, Hawai'i's congressional delegation filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the school's request. Sens. Dan Inouye and Daniel Akaka, along with Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Ed Case, all Democrats, wrote that Congress recognizes Kamehameha's policy because it remedies "educational imbalances faced by Native Hawaiian children."

Earlier, similar briefs were filed by the state attorney general, the Japanese American Citizens League-Hawai'i Chapter, Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., Native Hawaiian Bar Association, Na 'A'ahuhiwa, 'Ilio'ulaokalani Coalition and three Mainland civil-rights groups.

Yesterday, Mayor Mufi Hannemann said Honolulu also filed a friend-of-the-court brief because "I wanted to demonstrate my deep belief that the court ignored the expressed will of Princess Pauahi, and ... overlooked the reality of today's Hawai'i."

The school also announced yesterday that a brief was filed by the National Association of Independent Schools, which represents more than 1,200 private schools.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.