Court Opinion

ID: 9635656
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 13:58:31.241673+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:17:20.809715
License: Public Domain

Concurring Opinion by
Judge FRIEDMAN.
I concur in the result reached by the majority. However, I write separately because I do not believe that the disposition of the issue in this case should rest on case law which, for the most part, is over one hundred years old and interprets the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1874, not the Pennsylvania Constitution that exists today.1
The issue presented here is whether the Hill School, an all-male private school, is an institution of purely public charity that is entitled to a government benefit, i.e., tax exemption, under Article VIII, Section 2 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. In its reliance on extremely old case law, the majority dismisses the fact that, on May 18, *3211971,2 the voters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adopted the Pennsylvania Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) at Article I, Section 28 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. (See majority op. at p. 318 n. 7.) According to our supreme court, we must read and construe provisions of the Pennsylvania Constitution together with its other provisions. Commonwealth ex rel. Specter v. Vignola, 446 Pa. 1, 285 A.2d 869 (1971). However, the majority analyzes Article VIII, Section 2 of the Pennsylvania Constitution without considering the ERA. Unlike the majority, I would not ignore the ERA in this case.3
1. Equality of Rights Under the Law
The ERA provides: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because of the sex of the individual.” Pa. Const., Art. I, § 28 (emphasis added).
The thrust of the [ERA] is to insure equality of rights under the law and to eliminate sex as a basis for distinction. The sex of citizens of this Commonwealth is no longer a permissible factor in the determination of their legal rights and legal responsibilities. The law will not impose different benefits or different burdens upon the members of a society based on the fact that they may be man or woman.
Henderson v. Henderson, 458 Pa. 97, 101, 827 A.2d 60, 62 (1974) (emphasis added). The federal constitutional concept of “state action” does not apply to the ERA. Bartholomew ex rel. Bartholomew v. Foster, 115 Pa.Cmwlth. 430, 541 A.2d 393 (1988), aff'd, 522 Pa. 489, 563 A.2d 1390 (1989).
The ‘state action’ test is applied by the courts in determining whether, in a given case, a state’s involvement in private activity is sufficient to justify the application of a federal constitutional prohibition of state action to that conduct. The rationale underlying the ‘state action’ doctrine is irrelevant to the interpretation of the scope of the [ERA], a state constitutional amendment adopted by the Commonwealth as part of its own organic law. The language of that enactment [the ERA], not a test used to measure the extent of federal constitutional protections, is controlling.
Hartford Accident and Indemnity v. Insurance Commissioner, 505 Pa. 571, 586, 482 A.2d 542, 549 (1984) (emphasis added). The text of the ERA makes clear that its prohibition “circumscribes the conduct of state and local government entities and officials of all levels in their formulation, interpretation and enforcement of statutes, regulations, ordinances and other legislation as well as decisional law.” Id. (emphasis added).
II. Tax Exemption by Law
Article VIII, Section 2(a)(v) of the Pennsylvania Constitution provides as follows:
(a) The General Assembly may by law exempt from taxation:
(v) Institutions of purely public charity, but in the case of any real property *322tax exemptions only that portion of real property of such institution which is actually and regularly used for the purposes of the institution.
Pa. Const., Art. VIII, § 2(a)(v) (emphasis added). Quite clearly, Article VIII, Section 2(a)(v) allows, but does not compel, the General Assembly to enact a law exempting institutions of purely public charity from taxation.4 However, construing this provision together with the ERA, I believe it is clear that the General Assembly may not enact a tax exemption law that denies or abridges equality of rights based on sex. In other words, the General Assembly may not enact a law providing tax exemption for male-only institutions of purely public charity but not providing tax exemption for female-only institutions.5
III. Charity Act
Pursuant to Article VIII, Section 2 of the Constitution of 1968, the General Assembly enacted the Purely Public Charity Act (Charity Act), Act of November 26, 1997, P.L. 508, as amended, 10 P.S. §§ 371-385. Section 5(e)(2) of the Charity Act states that an educational institution may reasonably deny admission to certain individuals6 and qualify as an institution of purely public charity “as long as denial [of admission] is not in violation of Federal or State anti-discrimination laws.” 10 P.S. § 375(e)(2).
The first question for our purposes here is whether this law violates the ERA, i.e., whether, under this law, equality of rights is denied or abridged on the basis of sex. Because the law does not distinguish between male-only and female-only educational institutions, bestowing the government benefit of tax exemption upon both kinds of single-sex schools, the law, on its face, does not deny or abridge equality of rights on the basis of sex.7
Having determined that section 5(e)(2) of the Charity Act does not violate the *323ERA, the final question is whether the Hill School’s denial of admission to women violates federal or state anti-discrimination laws. As the majority indicates, federal and state, anti-discrimination laws do not prohibit private single-sex secondary schools. Thus, the Hill School is entitled to tax exemption under Article VIII, Section 2 of the Pennsylvania Constitution as an institution of purely public charity.
Accordingly, I would affirm.
Judge SMITH joins in this Concurring Opinion.

. I note that the language contained in Article VIII, Section 2 of the Constitution of 1968, which we must interpret in this case, was found in Article IX, Section 1 of the Constitution of 1874. See In re Hill School, 370 Pa. 21, 87 A.2d 259 (1952).

. See Robert E. Woodside, Pennsylvania Constitutional Law 193 (1985).

. I point out that, in 1952, our supreme court held that the Hill School was an institution of purely public charity entitled to tax exemption under Article IX, Section 1 of the Constitution of 1874 and section 204 of the Act of May 22, 1933, P.L. 853, as amended, 72 P.S. § 5020-204. In re Hill School. However, because the ERA did not exist in 1952, the court never considered that constitutional provision in making its determination. The ERA has been a part of our constitution for thirty years now, and, in view of its relevance to the issue confronting us, I believe we are obliged to include it in any analysis of the Hill School's entitlement to tax exemption.

. Thus, theoretically, the General Assembly is free to pick and choose among charitable institutions, granting tax exemption to some while withholding that benefit from others.

. The majority states that it need not decide whether, under Article VIII, Section 2 of the Constitution of 1968, the General Assembly may exempt some institutions of purely public charity without exempting all. (Majority op. at p. 319.) Because this court must read and construe Article VIII, Section 2 together with the ERA, I believe that we cannot avoid this issue. Clearly, under the ERA, the General Assembly must withhold tax exemption from institutions of purely public charity that violate anti-discrimination laws relating to sex.

. I note that, according to the majority, "the principle that single gender schools provide significant educational benefits for certain students has received substantial support." (Majority op. at p. 317 n. 6.) However, at least one commentator indicates that (he results of empirical research on this issue are inconclusive at best and that, inevitably, courts rush to embrace studies that comport with their social visions. See Nancy Levit, Separating Equals: Educational Research and the Long Term Consequences of Sex Segregation, 67 Geo. Wash. L.Rev. 451 (March 1999).
With respect to exclusively male schools, the majority of research shows that boys are served best, both academically and socially, in coeducational environments; the effects of single-sex education on boys are either neutral or negative. Id. As for all-female institutions, recent data suggests that variables other than sex explain performance differences among girls and, once appropriate controls are introduced for the other variables, measurable differences disappear. Id. Nevertheless, the U.S. Supreme Court has stated with regard to single-sex education that: "We do not question [a state's] prerogative evetihand-edly to support diverse educational opportunities." United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515, 534 n. 7, 116 S.Ct. 2264, 135 L.Ed.2d 735 (1996) (emphasis added).

.If the only single-sex private schools in Pennsylvania were all-male institutions like the Hill School, then it would be necessary to decide whether, as applied, the law denies or abridges equality of rights on the basis of sex. *323However, there is no evidence in the record indicating that the only single-sex private schools in Pennsylvania are all-male institutions.