About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

14 Wake Forest L. Rev. Online 1 (2024)

handle is hein.journals/wflron14 and id is 1 raw text is: FROM TAX-EXEMPTIONS TO TITLE IX: INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS AND THE § 501(C)(3) CONUNDRUM Sam Kiehl* INTRODUCTION Should an independent school that maintains a § 501(c)(3) tax- exempt status be obligated to comply with Title IX? The answer comes down to how you define federal financial assistance.1 Two recent federal court decisions from opposite ends of the country came out four days apart in July 2022, seeking to address this exact question. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California both expanded Title IX coverage, ruling that independent schools may be subject to Title IX based on maintaining a § 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.2 Both courts noted that the United States Supreme Court has never directly addressed whether a tax-exempt status under § 501(c)(3) constitutes federal financial assistance for purposes of Title IX.3 No federal appellate court has considered the issue either. This Note argues Congress should amend 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681-89 (Title IX) to include a provision that defines federal financial assistance and specify that the term includes educational organizations that maintain a tax-exemption. By appropriately distinguishing how federal financial assistance is defined, Congress will ensure the * Third-year law student at the Wake Forest University School of Law. B.S. in Social Studies Education from the University of Oklahoma and will begin practicing with Conner & Winters, LLP in their Tulsa office following graduation. Many thanks to Dylan, Keegan, and the team at the Wake Forest Law Review Online for their partnership on this article. I am also forever grateful to my parents for encouraging my love of learning at my own pace, to Rob and Carilyn for fostering my connection with the law, and, most importantly, to Dr. Robin Rainey Kiehl for being the ultimate teammate, wife, and soon-to-be mother. 1. 20 U.S.C.A. § 1681(a) (West). 2. See Buettner-Hartsoe v. Balt. Lutheran High Sch. Ass'n, No. CV RDB- 20-3132, 2022 WL 2869041 at *5 (D. Md. July 21, 2022), motion to certify appeal granted, No. CV RDB-20-3132, 2022 WL 4080294 (D. Md. Sept. 6, 2022); E.H. ex rel. Herrera v. Valley Christian Acad., 616 F. Supp. 3d 1040, 1049-50 (C.D. Cal. 2022). 3. See Buettner-Hartsoe, 2022 WL 2869041, at *3; E.H. ex rel. Herrera, 616 F. Supp. 3d at 1049-50. 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most