Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,
The Trump administration is proposing a new rule that would strip private colleges and schools of their tax-exempt status if those institutions engaged in racial discrimination through policies such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service said on Thursday that a proposed rule would bar a private school from obtaining tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code if the school "adopts, maintains, or enforces a policy or practice that discriminates on the basis of race, color, or national or ethnic origin."
Under the new regulation, which would take effect in May 2027, a broad range of programs administered by schools would be affected. They include admissions, policies, loans, scholarships, and athletics, said the Treasury Department in a news release.
The proposal may impact as many as 18,000 private educational institutions across the United States, the IRS and Treasury estimated.
"This administration is standing up for America's students by ensuring racial discrimination has no place in American education," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement.
"Schools rebranding race-based preferences as equitable, inclusive, or diversity-enhancing does not change their discriminatory nature."
The proposal, he added, would "establish a clear standard" for private schools
