Stand Against the New MAGA Attack on Diversity and Equity
The Ask
The Trump/Vance MAGA regime is proposing a new IRS rule aimed at revoking the tax-exempt status of private high schools, colleges, and training programs who dare to continue diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, activities, or scholarships. Mendaciously titled: "Racial Nondiscrimination in Private Schools," [REG-119986-25] this proposal – like much of MAGA propaganda – is predicated on the false premise that any effort to remedy generations of systematic race, national origin, or ethnic-based disadvantagement is in some way discrimination against white people.
Submit Your Comment on This Proposed Rule
Due before Tuesday Nov 3rd 2026.
(Note: Providing your email address is optional.)
Your comments can be as long or short as you wish. What counts is refusing to remain silent by taking a, "No. I do not assent," stand and/or declaring, "I support DEI efforts to remedy past discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or national origin."
It's your thoughts that count. Your comment can be as simple as, "I oppose proposed rule REG-119986-25." Or you can start with, "I oppose proposed rule REG-119986-25 because …" and proceed from there.
When putting forth your reasons for opposing REG-119986-25, consider possibilities such as:
It is predicated on the false premise that efforts to remedy and remediate generations of discrimination and disadvantagement against nonwhite Americans is somehow persecution of white Americans.
Wielding state power and taxation to enforce an extreme ideology by one political faction is fundamentally inimical to every principle of justice and equality that America should stand for.
While the rule's title claims to be about, "Racial nondiscrimination," its real intention is to perpetuate racial and ethnic disparities by prohibiting efforts to remedy past injustice.
The rule would limit, or bar outright, programs that focus financial aid, access, mentoring, or other benefits to Black, Brown, Asian, Native-American or nonwhite immigrant students to level the playing-field.
The rule weakens the separation between church and state because it explicitly allows religion-based financial aid and other benefits. So, for example, programs that favor or aid members of a Christian-nationalist church are free to continue while those helping people of color are barred.
The rule sets a precedent that the IRS – an agency under the direct authority of the Trump/Vance administration – can decide that some educational practice or program at a private institution is contrary to national policy (as politically interpreted by the White House and no one else) and then use taxation powers to force the institution to knuckle under or suffer dire consequences.
To be clear (and honest), since this proposed rule is part of a systematic effort to enforce MAGA ideology on an unwilling public, we have no expectation that our public comments will dissuade them. Nevertheless, it is vital that we speak out for three reasons:
It is a fundamental principle of human affairs that, "Silence equals assent." If we do not agree and accept, we must stand up and say so. As Dr. King once told us: "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
The rule will certainly be challenged in court. The number and intensity of opposition comments by the public may impact the outcome of those cases.
Congress can challenge the rule, first with the Congressional Review Act and then with counteracting legislation. If there is massive public opposition to this rule, it will encourage, and stiffen the spines of, Democrats (and hopefully others) to overturn it by legislation.
Background
The new Trump/Vance IRS rule revokes the tax-exempt status of private high schools, colleges, and training programs who continue diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, activities, or scholarships. Mendaciously titled: "Racial Nondiscrimination in Private Schools," this new rule – like MAGA propaganda – is predicated on the false premise that any effort to remedy generations of systematic disadvantagement based on race, national origin, or ethnicity is in some way discrimination against white people. For example, scholarships designed to reach Black, Latino, or other historically underserved students are treated as if they were exclusionary race-based restrictions against whites.
The new rule aims to eliminate or cripple programs at 18,000 private educational institutions that are designed to benefit Black, Brown, Asian, Native-American, or nonwhite immigrant students in areas such as:
Admissions policies.
Courses and educational programs.
Scholarships, financial aid, and loans.
Athletic participation and access.
Other school-administered or supported activities.
This new rule has deep roots in American history. After the Supreme Court ruled against segregated schools in the 1954 Brown v Board of Education decision, White-supremacists launched a "Massive Resistance" (their term) campaign that stalled, circumvented, and evaded significant school integration for almost two decades in open defiance of subsequent court rulings and the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Then in the 1970s, the IRS enforced Brown and the Civil Rights Act by issuing a rule [Proc 75-50] denying tax-exempt status to schools that were racially discriminatory. That effectively ended overt Massive Resistance to school integration (though covert resistance continues to this day). Included in rule 75-50 were provisions that explicitly declared that policies and programs favoring racial minority groups were NOT racially discriminatory if their purpose was to promote nondiscrimination or remediate past discrimination.
MAGA's proposed rule [REG-119986-25] clearly states that its purpose is to revoke that long-standing IRS rule allowing race and ethnicity-based aid and programs that serve remedial or diversity-related objectives: "...racial discrimination in education is impermissible, regardless of its intent (for example, to ameliorate the effects of past racial discrimination)."
At the same time though, the proposed rule also explicitly declares that it does, "not preclude a private school from maintaining a religious mission, curriculum, or program of observance, or from selecting students on the basis of religious affiliation or membership." Which means that while financial aid to assist disadvantaged Black students or Chinese immigrants is prohibited, scholarships for students based on their membership in a Christian-nationalist church is fine. Yet another violation of the principle of separation of church and state.
References
Trump Moves to Strip Tax Exemption From Schools That Aid Minority Students, NY Times, 9/3/26.
New IRS proposal threatens universities' tax-exempt status over diversity programs, Politico 9/3/26
Racial Nondiscrimination in Private Schools, IRS. The official description & text of proposed rule REG-119986-25.