British Private Schools Challenge Charity-Status Rules

Private schools in England and Wales are mounting a legal challenge to regulations requiring them to demonstrate they provide sufficient “public benefit” or risk losing their tax-exempt status, according to the BBC.

The Charity Tribunal, a judicial body, will open a hearing Tuesday on how the regulatory Charity Commission interprets the 2006 law that created the public-benefit test.

The Independent Schools Council, which represents private academies, argues that the commission puts too much emphasis on how many free and discounted placements schools offer to low-income pupils and that requiring institutions to increase the number of scholarship students will drive up tuition for paying students.

The Charity Commission says it looks at a wide range of factors, such as private schools’ cooperation with public schools and local communities, in assessing whether schools can remain charities.