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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Plyler v. Doe
Citation:
457 U.S. 202 (1982)Facts
In 1975, the Texas Legislature revised its education laws to withhold state funds from local school districts for the education of children who were not “legally admitted” into the United States. The law also authorized local school districts to deny enrollment to such children. The Tyler Independent School District, following this statute, adopted a policy requiring undocumented children to pay tuition to attend public schools. A class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of school-age children of Mexican origin who could not establish legal status. The plaintiffs argued that the statute violated the Equal Protection Clause. The district court found that the exclusion of undocumented children was not supported by any substantial state interest and that these children were being punished for their parents’ actions. The court also found that many undocumented children would remain in the United States permanently and that without education, they would form a permanent underclass. The state defended the law as necessary to preserve limited educational resources and to discourage illegal immigration.
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