Unofficial Government Policy.

Policies can take different forms, depending upon whose policies they are, and what they refer to......
They may be public or private, official or unofficial, expressed or unexpressed. Some common types of policies:

Unofficial government policy.

Unofficial policies are shaped by the unspoken attitudes and assumptions held by policy makers. They aren't generally written down anywhere, and may not even be stated to anyone, but they are powerful and long-lasting. They can become part of the culture of a governing body or agency, and, at least in part because they are unwritten, they are often incredibly difficult to change.

 
No one may admit that unwritten policies exist, or they may be so deeply ingrained that they're viewed not as policies, but as facts. Assumptions about such issues as gender roles, race relations, or the relative status of particular groups may play a huge, but unacknowledged, role in public or corporate policy. Unofficial policies may have to be exposed and changed before any official policy change is possible.
There are numerous instances in the US of unofficial policy guiding lawmaking and other forms of official policy-making. 


The "glass ceiling" for women and minorities in government and corporations, for instance - the usually unofficial understanding that women and minorities could advance only so far and no farther in management - was, and often still is, one example. Another was the federal government's unwillingness to act to prevent racial discrimination prior to the 1960's, even though it was clearly indefensible under the Constitution.