Re: Fourteenth Amendment Yes!

kgalles@erols.com
Wed, 04 Mar 1998 20:49:49 -0500


John -- You are correct. The 14th Amendment does NOT apply to private
schools unless they are intimately entwined with the state in some way.
Many states, however, have more expansive equal protection clauses in
their state constitutions or in their state civil rights laws. The 14th
Amendment prevents state schools like VMI and the Citadel from being
single-sex, but it does not and cannot make schools like Bryn Mawr
(private) co-ed. Kristen Galles, Equity Legal <kgalles@erols.com>

________________________________________________________

John Lindner wrote:
>
> At 10:07 PM -0800 2/28/98, Linda Purrington wrote:
> >My error--I didn't phrase my post correctly. Yes indeed, the equal
> > protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment can be invoked to help
> > assure children in private schools equal treatment under the laws of
> >the United States, and yes, this does include equal access to education
> > without discrimination on the basis of sex.
>
> Are you saying someone could file suit against a single-sex private school
> under the Fourteenth Amendment for admission of the students of the sex not
> currently admitted?
>
> If so, I really don't think that's accurate. Private schools can (and do)
> set their own admission standards and are not subject to review in this
> area, as far as I (admittedly a non-lawyer but a graduate of private
> elementary and secondary schools) know.
>
> I would appreciate some clarification on this.
>
> Take care,
>
> John
>
> John Lindner <johng@garlic.com>


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