Hawaii
Settlement Aims To Ensure Gender Equality For Student Athletes In Hawaii
Plaintiffs in a landmark lawsuit over the unequal treatment of female athletes at Hawaii’s largest public school welcomed the finalization of a settlement Friday and expressed hope it would lead to fairer accommodations statewide.
In 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of female athletes at Campbell High School against the Hawaii Department of Education and the Oahu Interscholastic Association. Female athletes at the school complained of a lack of locker rooms and travel opportunities for their sports teams.
DOE and OIA entered into a preliminary settlement with the plaintiffs in October. The U.S. District Court upheld that agreement on Friday after no objections were raised during a final hearing on Friday.
The settlement did not seek monetary damages but focused on the need to ensure equal treatment for female student athletes. That includes hiring an independent evaluator to assess Campbell High’s athletic facilities as part of a seven-year compliance plan.
The independent evaluator already has started speaking with female athletes at the high school and completed his first on-site visit of the school in December. The next one will be in the spring. DOE and OIA will be required to upload the reports on their website, according to lawyers in the case.
Ashley Badis, one of the plaintiffs who is now a student at the University of Hawaii Manoa, said she’s most excited about the settlement’s requirement that Campbell High teachers, coaches and students receive training on gender equity in sports.
“I personally didn’t even know what Title IX was until this whole process started,” said Badis, a former member of Campbell’s water polo and swim team. “I just knew something was wrong.”
Title IX is a federal law mandating that male and female athletes receive equal opportunities in school sports, including access to training and medical resources, coaches and locker rooms.
Campbell’s stand-alone locker room for female athletes is still in the construction process. Approximately 15 Hawaii schools only have one locker room that is shared between boys’ and girls’ teams depending on the athletic season, according to DOE.
“It’s very easy to say something is the case on paper,” ACLU of Hawaii legal director Jongwook “Wookie” Kim said. “But then when you actually go onto campus and talk to students or talk to coaches, the situation might be completely different.”
Several provisions in the settlement specifically apply to Campbell, but Kim said he’s hopeful the lawsuit will also address larger Title IX concerns in Hawaii.
Notably, all OIA schools must complete an annual Title IX assessment in order to maintain their membership in the association. More than 20 public schools participate in the OIA.
An independent evaluator will then review schools’ assessments and develop recommendations for the OIA.
Lyle Hosoda, who represented OIA in the case, said the association is dedicated to following the lawsuit’s requirements and working with school athletic directors and principals on Title IX compliance moving forward.
“This is a continuing effort,” Hosoda said during Friday’s hearing.
Elizabeth Kristen, the plaintiffs’ counsel in the case, said she’s hopeful about the settlement’s impact on Hawaii schools, adding that Campbell has made some progress toward improving its athletic program.
The school surveyed students at Campbell and its two feeder schools, Ewa Makai and Ilima Intermediate, to determine girls’ interest in different sports. The results of the survey can help Campbell better plan its athletic programs for girls moving forward, said Kristen, who also serves as director of Legal Aid at Work’s gender equity and LGBTQ+ rights program.
“But each school shouldn’t take six years of litigation,” Kristen said. “So it’s really time for the Department of Education to take proactive measures and fix this across the state.”
Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.
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Hawaii
Healthier Hawaii: How to protect your hearing; head and neck warning signs you shouldn’t ignore
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – You may have received new earbuds or headphones during the holidays. But there are a few things you keep in mind when it comes to protecting your hearing.
Dr. Ross Shockley, an otolaryngologist with Wilcox Medical Center and Kaua‘i Medical Clinic, offers the following tips for hearing, as well as head and neck health.
Head and neck cancers
Many people are not familiar with head or neck cancers. What causes it and when should someone see a doctor?
- Traditionally, head and neck cancers were mostly associated with longtime smokers and drinkers. Now, more cases are tied to human papillomavirus (HPV), even in nonsmokers and drinkers. HPV is the same virus that can lead to cervical cancer in women. It is common and can have no symptoms.
- If you have throat pain, pain when swallowing that doesn’t go away, or a mass in your neck that feels firm and isn’t moving, don’t wait. See your doctor.
- Head and neck cancers can be treated, no matter the cause, if caught early.
How to prevent hearing loss
More young adults, in their early 20s, are experiencing hearing loss. Can hearing loss be reversed?
- Hearing loss can’t be reversed. Once ringing in ears starts, that can be permanent.
- Wear appropriate hearing protection when using power tools or firing weapons.
- You can find ear protection that blocks out sound for about $15. Protection that covers the whole ear are better than earplugs.
How do you know if music or movies are too loud?
- Don’t turn anything up to the maximum.
- You want the volume to be at the lowest level where you can still hear and understand.
- If there is background noise, don’t crank up the volume all the way to fight it. Use noise-cancelling headphones or go somewhere quieter.
Dangers of cleaning your ears
You may feel the urge to clean your ears. Shockley says do less, or even nothing at all.
- Our ears clean themselves. As new skin grows, it takes wax with it out of your ear.
- When you clean your ears, you’re interrupting that natural cleaning process.
- You can also put yourself at risk for external ear infections – or make your ears itch more.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Hawaii Grown: Few isle players in College Football Playoff final four | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii Island police are renewing their request for the public’s assistance in locating 82-year-old Jacquelyn Glenn of Kailua-Kona, who was reported missing by her family.
Police said she is considered endangered due to her age.
Glenn was last seen on Friday, Dec. 5, around 6:37 a.m., on the 75-200 block of Nani Kailua Dr. in Kailua-Kona.
She was wearing a peach-colored shirt, blue denim jeans, and black tennis shoes. She reportedly mentioned going to Hilo with friends, but did not say when she planned to return.
She is described as 5′6″, 125 Ibs, with curly grey hair and brown eyes.
Police ask anyone with information on the whereabouts of Jacquelyn Glenn to call the Hawaii Police Department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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