An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 2 - Governance

The School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, tuition assistance programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

The statement also needs to be published or broadcast annually. 54 The statement must also be included in all of a school’s brochures and catalogues dealing with student admissions, programs, and scholarships. 55 Finally, a school must include a reference to its racially nondiscriminatory policy in other written advertising that it uses as a means of informing prospective students of the school’s programs. The following short form statement may be used for such advertisements: The School admits students of any race, color, and national or ethnic origin. 56 6. P ROHIBITION O N P ARTISAN A CTIVITIES An additional policy a School may wish to include in its Bylaws is a prohibition on partisan political activity because participating in partisan activities can jeopardize a school’s tax-exempt status:

No substantial part of the activities of the Corporation shall consist of the publication or dissemination of materials with the purpose of attempting to influence legislation, and the Corporation shall not participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office or for or against any cause or measure being submitted to the people for a vote. The Corporation shall not, except to an insubstantial degree, engage in any partisan activities or exercise any powers that are not in furtherance of the Corporation’s purposes.

Though only “substantial” partisan activities are prohibited, schools should venture into political issues with extreme caution, and only when those issues are related to the school’s mission.

7. L IMITATIONS OF L IABILITY F OR D IRECTORS A ND O FFICERS There is a strong public policy in favor of encouraging individuals to volunteer their services to non-profit organizations. In order to promote the important service that directors and officers of nonprofit corporations provide, federal and state laws have been enacted to protect directors and officers from personal liability for actions taken on behalf of the corporation.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 41