Do public funds expose schools to federal regulations prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, or religion?
Private schools are already subject to the federal statute prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race in making contracts, 42 U.S.C. 1981, which the Supreme Court held applicable to private schools in Runyon v. McCrary. In addition, private schools must avoid racial discrimination in order to maintain tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code. Receipt of public funds in a school choice program would likely have no additional effects on a private school’s obligations with respect to race discrimination. No federal statute prohibiting sex discrimination applies to the admissions practices of private elementary and secondary schools, including those receiving direct federal financial assistance. Nor do federal regulations appear to cover the activities of private schools that are not recipients of federal financial assistance. Federal statutes imposing conditions on the receipt of public funds do not prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion, so absent provisions in st
