Does the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee children of illegal aliens a free public education?
The U.S. Supreme Court says: Yes. How did the Supreme Court reach that decision? Below is the pertinent language from the Fourteenth Amendment: No State shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Summary: In 1982, the Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe , 457 U.S. 202 (1982), that public schools were prohibited from denying immigrant students access to a public education. The Court stated that undocumented children have the same right to a free public education as U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Undocumented immigrant students are obligated, as are all other students, to attend school until they reach the age mandated by state law. Public schools and school personnel are prohibited under Plyler from adopting policies or taking actions that would deny students access to education based on their immigration status. Based on the Supreme Court’s ruling, public school districts should consider the following practices in working with Engl
