Plyler v. Doe

E57611

Plyler v. Doe is a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held states cannot deny free public education to children based on their immigration status, recognizing such exclusion as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause.


Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
landmark decision
appliesTo K-12 public education
undocumented immigrant children
challengedPolicy Authorization for school districts to deny enrollment to undocumented children
Denial of state funds for education of undocumented children
challengedStatute Texas Education Code §21.031
decidedBy Burger Court
establishesPrinciple Immigration status alone is not a sufficient basis to deny public education
States cannot discriminate against undocumented children in access to basic public education
hasArgumentDate 1981-12-01
1981-12-02
hasCategory United States immigration and education case law
hasChiefJusticeAtDecision Warren E. Burger
hasCitation 457 U.S. 202
hasConcurrenceBy Harry A. Blackmun NERFINISHED
Lewis F. Powell Jr.
Thurgood Marshall
hasCountry United States
hasCourt Supreme Court of the United States
hasDecisionDate 1982-06-15
hasDissentBy Byron R. White NERFINISHED
Sandra Day O'Connor
Warren E. Burger
William H. Rehnquist
hasDocketNumber 80-1538
hasFullCaseName Plyler, Superintendent, Tyler Independent School District, et al. v. Doe, Guardian, et al.
hasHolding States may not deny free public education to children based on their immigration status
Texas statute denying funding for education of undocumented children violates the Equal Protection Clause
Undocumented school-age children are persons within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment
hasImpactOn access of undocumented children to public schools in the United States
hasJurisdiction federal constitutional law
hasLegalIssue Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
hasMajorityOpinionBy William J. Brennan Jr. NERFINISHED
hasPetitioner James Plyler
Tyler Independent School District
hasPrecedentialStatus binding precedent in federal and state courts
hasRespondent John Doe
hasStandardOfReview heightened rational basis scrutiny
hasVote 5-4
hasYear 1982
interprets Equal Protection Clause
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
originatedInState Texas
relatesTo civil rights of noncitizens
education law in the United States
immigration law in the United States

Referenced by (5)

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