Colleges sidestep Supreme Court ban by using geography in tax-exempt school rule
Three years after the Supreme Court prohibited race-based admissions, universities are exploiting a Treasury rule that permits “geographic location” as a race-neutral alternative.
Students for Fair Admissions warned the Treasury Department on Sept. 16 that the agency’s proposed definition of race-neutral criteria for tax-exempt private schools is being used to conceal prohibited racial sorting. The organization argues that “geographic location,” now listed as acceptable, has become the primary loophole for colleges to continue the practice outlawed in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. The letter urges the IRS to reconsider the rule to prevent covert discrimination.
Why it matters
It shows how colleges may evade a Supreme Court ban on race-based admissions using a new regulatory loophole.
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