A non-Hawaiian student denied admission at a private school in Hawai'i has agreed to dismiss his federal civil rights lawsuit, which had been appealed to the Supreme Court.

The student's claim that the 120-year-old Kamehameha Schools violated civil rights law by effectively excluding applicants who have no Hawaiian blood had been awaiting Supreme Court review.

The justices had been scheduled to take up the case at their private conference last week. Instead, the court's electronic docket noted the case had been dismissed by agreement of the parties.

We have reached agreement with "John Doe" to resolve Doe's lawsuit seeking to overturn our admissions policy. The terms of the settlement are confidential. By settling this case, we protect our right to offer admissions preference to Native Hawaiians. The plaintiff has withdrawn his petition for U.S. Supreme Court appeal of the 9th Circuit Court ruling upholding our preference policy as legally permissible.

This means that the Circuit Court ruling stands – our legal right to offer preference to Native Hawaiian applicants is preserved. Our work to fulfill our mission and Pauahi's vision, on our campuses and in our communities can proceed without distraction.