New Trump Policy Revokes Tax-Exempt Status For Any School Giving Scholarships To Black Students

In the latest front of Trump’s cultural war, the Treasury Department announced new rules that would revoke the tax-exempt status for schools that render any type of aid or favor to Black or “minority” students, including in admissions policies, scholarships, loans, or other programs marked for students of color in private schools across the country.

According to Inside Higher Ed, as many as 18,000 private schools could have their 501(c)(3) tax exemption status revoked if they are found to violate the new rules, which are expected to go into effect on May 31, 2027.  

Using the IRS as its attack dog, the administration’s new policy would have the tax agency policing private schools grades K-12, as well as colleges and universities. for any policy that “discriminates on the basis of race, color, or national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational, admissions, scholarship, athletic, or other policies,” according to a draft of the proposed rule,  bolstering Trump’s “persecution of white men” ethos. 

The New York Times reports: 

Such a change would thrust the I.R.S. into the center of the Trump administration’s push to pressure schools to abandon initiatives aimed at supporting Black and other minority students, efforts meant to address the nation’s long history of racial discrimination and segregation. Trump officials, however, view such programs as a form of discrimination against white and Asian Americans, and federal civil rights lawyers have opened investigations on those grounds into admissions policies at Harvard, Yale and other schools.

Although the Times notes that schools affected would not owe much more in federal income taxes than they do now, if they lose their tax-exempt status, “the exemption is valuable because it allows donors to deduct donations they make directly to the school, helping fund-raising efforts,” it reports.

Ed Source expects that the proposed regulation, fueled by the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to end race-based affirmative action, will likely face legal challenges.

Rinse, repeat. 

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