Opinion ID: 3039812
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Respond to a Manifest Imbalance

Text: [11] To meet the first modified Johnson factor, a private school must demonstrate that, in the relevant community, specific, significant imbalances in educational achievement presently affect the group favored by its admissions policy. The relevant community in this case is the state of Hawaii, because the Schools serve students from all of Hawaii’s islands. We therefore consider whether a manifest imbalance in current educational achievement exists between Native Hawaiians and other ethnic groups in Hawaii. Native Hawaiian students are systemically disadvantaged in the classroom. As we described earlier, there is a substantial disparity in performance between Native Hawaiian students and other ethnic groups. Briefly, Native Hawaiian students score lower on standardized tests than all other ethnic groups in the state, Ka Huakai at 229, 261, are more likely to be in special education classes, id. at 278, are more likely to be absent from school, id. at 229, and are more likely to attend poor-quality schools, id. at 252. Native Hawaiians are the least likely of the state’s major ethnic groups to graduate from high school, id. at 229, 285, and they are less likely than their non-Hawaiian counterparts to attend college, id. at 118-19. Congress has expressly recognized the educational disadvantages suffered by Native Hawaiians and their marginalized status. 20 U.S.C. § 7512. In view of those facts and congressional findings, it is clear that a manifest imbalance exists in the K-12 educational arena in the state of Hawaii, with Native Hawaiians falling at the DOE v. KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS 19079 bottom of the spectrum in almost all areas of educational progress and success. Furthermore, it is precisely this manifest imbalance that the Kamehameha Schools’ admissions policy seeks to address. The goal is to bring Native Hawaiian students into educational parity with other ethnic groups in Hawaii. The stated purpose of Kamehameha Schools is to create educational opportunities to improve the capability and well-being of Native Hawaiians and to cultivate, nurture, and perpetuate Hawaiian culture, values, history, and language. To that end, the Schools advance a curriculum specially tailored to students of Native Hawaiian descent. The Schools have pinpointed areas in which Native Hawaiians, in particular, are severely disadvantaged and have developed a curriculum to attend to those needs. The Schools have instituted a “Leadership Model” of education, meant to “restore selfidentity, integrate Native Hawaiian culture, heritage, language, and traditions into the educational process, and provide a first-rate educational experience for Native Hawaiians.” The Schools’ efforts are aimed at increasing scores on standardized tests, increasing the number of Native Hawaiians attending colleges and graduate schools, improving Native Hawaiian representation in professional, academic, and managerial positions, and developing community leaders who are committed to improving the lives of all Native Hawaiians. In addition, the Kamehameha Schools recognized, early on, a critical need to help perpetuate Native Hawaiian culture. As a result, in the 1940s, the Schools instituted a formal Hawaiian Cultural Program that continues today. Courses on Hawaiian history and culture are required before a student may graduate. [12] The Kamehameha Schools have shown that specific, significant imbalances in educational achievement currently affect Native Hawaiians in Hawaii and that the Schools aim 19080 DOE v. KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS to remedy that imbalance. Accordingly, they have satisfied the “manifest imbalance” criterion.