US President Donald Trump.
The proposed rule, announced by the Treasury Department on Thursday, could affect as many as 18,000 institutions and is part of President Donald Trump’s broader push to eliminate race-based diversity programmes in education, the Associated Press reported.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said institutions would not be able to avoid the proposed restrictions simply by changing the language used to describe race-based programmes. “Schools rebranding race-based preferences as equitable, inclusive, or diversity-enhancing does not change their discriminatory nature,” Bessent said. The Trump administration has proposed stripping private schools, colleges and other educational institutions of their tax-exempt status if they provide admissions, scholarships or other benefits to students based on race. Under the proposal, schools that provide benefits on the basis of race, colour or national or ethnic origin could lose their tax-exempt status. However, the rule would not cover religious institutions or race-neutral considerations such as family income, individual hardship, military family status or academic achievement. The proposal would apply to private primary and secondary schools, colleges, universities, professional schools and trade schools, including institutions that do not receive federal funding.
Bob Jones University lost its tax exemption in the 1970s after maintaining a policy banning interracial dating and marriage. There is also a historical precedent for the government revoking a college’s tax-exempt status. The Supreme Court later upheld the IRS decision.