A proposal to provide up to $500,000 in scholarships to needy Hawaiian students attending private schools in Hawai'i has won preliminary approval from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees.

OHA would give up to $5,000 per student in kindergarten through grade 12 in a school that is a member of the Hawai'i Association of Independent Schools. The program would exclude Kamehameha Schools, which provides aid to its students.

Priority would be given to those from families coming from the low and "gap" income categories. Scholarships would be capped at no more than half of a student's tuition cost. The proposal was approved last week.

OHA trustee Oswald Stender cited studies showing that more than 60,000 students in the public school system have Hawaiian blood.

"They represent 40 percent of the public school population and yet (Hawaiians as a whole are) only 20 percent of the population," Stender said. "Where do the other kids go? They go to private schools. Hawaiians cannot afford the tuition."