Can Private Schools Discriminate Based on Race?

There is a discussion in the comments about whether or not private schools may discriminate based on race. Co-author Alpha Unit writes:

I was curious about this, too, so I checked to see what federal law has to say about this. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits racial discrimination in all public schools and in any school receiving federal funds. Title IV, which addresses education, wouldn’t apply to privately funded schools.But each state might have its own anti-discrimination laws.

Private schools are in fact covered by most federal anti-discrimination laws. Private schools with 15 or more employees are covered by Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act. Title 7 forbids discrimination based on race. However, religious schools are exempted from the requirements of Title 7. Nevertheless, if they are tax exempt religious schools, they can have their tax-exempt status revoked. If they have 20+ employees, they are covered by the Age Discrimination Act. Almost all private schools are covered by the Equal Pay Act protecting women. I would imagine that almost all private schools have 15+ employees, so nearly 10 As it ought to be.

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0 thoughts on “Can Private Schools Discriminate Based on Race?”

  1. Interesting. Thanks for looking that one up.
    So, in effect you cannot have a “race-based” private school. It would simply be sued out of existence.
    Religious minorities can, but even they walk a fine line. That probably explains a lot.
    I went to a Catholic High school, where about half the students were not Catholic. Some reactionary parents wanted to make the school “Catholic only” at one point. That idea was shot down so quick it was not even funny.
    Now I can start to see why.

    1. Some reactionary parents wanted to make the school “Catholic only” at one point.
      LOL at the Opus Crazies. They don’t care if the Church gets whittled down to 25% of its current membership, as long as they can kick out the liberal cafeteria Catholics who keep the Vati-con solvent.
      I wish more of them would make like me and leave, so the cilice-wearing freaks can shrink into irrelevance.

  2. Thanks for pointing this out, Robert. Title VII does prohibit employment discrimination under the circumstances you talk about.

  3. To Rob:
    “”Private schools with 15 or more employees are covered by Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act. Title 7 forbids discrimination based on race.”
    “I would imagine that almost all private schools have 15+ employees, so nearly 100% of private schools may not discriminate based on race. It’s a violation of federal law.”
    I guess the religious aspect is the defining limiter…. even if one were to not discriminate based upon race there may be some pretty big hoops for some religions as to who is in and who is out.
    Since the discussion originated over BAG’s lament (as I perceived it..perhaps I am wrong…) that Orthodox Jews could discriminate but gentile Whites could not.. I should point out that there are Orthodox Jews who would not be considered White or more broadly.. Caucasian.
    I doubt you can just traipse up to an Amish school and say “I want to send Johnny (who could Black, Asian, or Latino…) here…” without a clear demonstration that Johnny has been raised in the Amish faith. Same could be said for Orthodox Jews. As for Catholic schools I know many have had open enrollment to all faiths for almost 4 decades so for them to reverse course would probably raise some eyebrows. Not so for the Amish or Orthodox Jews.

    1. Okay, Uncle Milton, but what I don’t get is why it’s okay to discriminate based on religion, but not race?
      The way I see it, either all discrimination is okay, or none of it is okay.

    1. Anyone can convert to any given religion.
      Hey, maybe that’s something Jews ought to try!
      Yes, I get your point. However, let’s face it, most people do not want to convert to other religions, and would find it degrading to convert just for the purpose of attending a certain school.
      Also, the desire of people of different religions to stay away from other groups to me is not too different from the white desire to avoid blacks.
      There are striking differences between whites and blacks in terms of behavior, culture, and overall attitude, so for whites to want to avoid blacks (or vice versa) is perfectly understandable.

      1. The demographic of black families that could even afford a private school would not be radically different from white families in the same income bracket – think The Cosby Show rather than Good Times.

  4. I wonder what would be the case if all- jewish or Jewish outlook type schools were in the situation.

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