An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 18 – Political Activity

parent/candidate, can be problematic. Similarly, introducing a parent who is running for office in a way that implies support may place the school at risk.

4. P UBLICATIONS A ND W EBSITES Many schools publish an alumni newsletter or magazine. If an alumnus writes in with the news that he is running for political office, the school does not have to exclude that statement from the publication. The school can include the information so long as the publication does not contain any other reference to this election or the alumnus’s candidacy. 2455 School websites are likewise subject to all of these restrictions regarding candidate electioneering. Any material on a school-run website that favors or opposes a candidate for office will be treated the same as if the school distributed printed materials or broadcast oral statements. Even linking to a third-party site may implicate the school in prohibited electioneering. The IRS will look at all the facts and circumstances, including the context for the link on the school’s website, whether all candidates are represented, any exempt educational purpose served by offering the link, and the directness of the links between the school’s website and the web page that contains material favoring or opposing a candidate for public office. 2456 5. S TUDENT P ARTICIPATION I N A P OLITICAL C AMPAIGN F OR S CHOOL C REDIT Schools may permit students to participate in a political campaign as part of a class, and receive course credit for their participation, under certain conditions. The IRS addressed this issue specifically in the context of a college political science class that required students to participate in a political campaign. The course did not violate the prohibition against electioneering because students were able to choose whichever campaign they wanted and the school was not involved in their campaign activities apart from checking the student log of hours served. 2457 In contrast, a program to train political advisors where students all went on to work for the same political party, was found not to qualify for exempt status. 2458 In this case, the program was, in essence, a training ground for one political party, and therefore the organization itself was too involved in partisan politics to qualify as a nonprofit. LCW Practice Advisor It is important to note that prohibitions on

electioneering on the part of the school do not mean that students cannot engage in debate and discussion about important issues of the day, including elections. Schools just need to be careful that the school itself is not engaging in any activity, or requiring students to, that is seen as directly supporting or opposing a specific candidate for office in an election.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 597