Plyler v. Doe | |
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Argued December 1, 1981 Decided June 15, 1982 | |
Full case name | James Plyler, Superintendent, Tyler Independent School District, et al. v. John Doe, et al. |
Citations | 457 U.S. 202 (more) 102 S. Ct. 2382; 72 L. Ed. 2d 786; 1982 U.S. LEXIS 124; 50 U.S.L.W. 4650 |
Case history | |
Prior | Judgment for plaintiffs, 458 F. Supp. 569 (E.D. Tex. 1978); affirmed, 628 F.2d 448 (5th Cir. 1980) |
Subsequent | Rehearing denied, 458 U.S. 1131 (1982) |
Holding | |
Denial of public education to students not legally admitted into the country violates the Equal Protection Clause. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinions | |
Majority | Brennan, joined by Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens |
Concurrence | Marshall |
Concurrence | Blackmun |
Concurrence | Powell |
Dissent | Burger, joined by White, Rehnquist, O'Connor |
Laws applied | |
U.S. Const. amend. XIV; Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 21.031 |
Part of a series on |
Chicanos and Mexican Americans |
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Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982), was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States struck down both a state statute denying funding for education of undocumented immigrant children in the United States and an independent school district's attempt to charge an annual $1,000 tuition fee for each student to compensate for lost state funding.[1] The Court found that any state restriction imposed on the rights afforded to children based on their immigration status must be examined under a rational basis standard to determine whether it furthers a substantial government interest.
The application of Plyler v. Doe has been limited to K–12 schooling. Other cases and legislation such as Toll v. Moreno 441 U.S. 458 (1979) and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996[2] have allowed some states to pass statutes that deny illegal immigrant students eligibility for in-state tuition, scholarships, or enrollment at public colleges and universities.[3][4][5]