Since 1975, non-profit organizations that receive tax-exempt status as 501c(3) organizations (such as religious and independent schools) have been required by the federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to publish a racial non-discrimination policy.
The IRS required the policy be publicized once annually and stipulated how, where and even the font size of the notice.
Recently, the IRS updated the requirement of posting to include electronic methods, such as on a school/church website.
This link will help you understand the new option for posting and the context for what is required by non-profit schools. We give thanks to our private school counterparts in Michigan, who shared it with WCRIS.
To summarize, there is now a third way for schools to post their required racial nondiscrimination clause according to the IRS updated rules.
Schools can meet the required posting requirement by displaying the clause on “its primary publicly accessible Internet homepage …in a manner reasonably expected to be noticed by visitors to the homepage.”
The new rule change comes after the IRS recognizes the increasing use of websites as “digital storefronts” for schools.
The previous two methods will still meet the requirements. Schools should work with their legal counsel to figure out the best option for their school.
The actual IRS rule is here.
