Migration Jurisprudence from the South › United States
Plyler v. Doe
Supreme Court of the United States · United States · 1982-06-15 · National court
Citation: 457 U.S. 202
Type of case: Constitutional and human rights
Outcome: Decided for the migrant side
Question
May a state deny free public schooling to children who are in the country without authorisation?
What the court decided
No. Undocumented children are “persons” protected by the Equal Protection Clause, and denying them education was not justified.
In plain language
Texas let schools charge or exclude children without immigration papers. The Supreme Court said this broke the constitutional guarantee of equal protection.
Dalam bahasa sederhana
Texas membolehkan sekolah memungut biaya atau menolak anak tanpa dokumen imigrasi. MA menyatakan ini melanggar jaminan konstitusional atas perlindungan yang sama.
Pertanyaan: Bolehkah negara bagian menolak sekolah umum gratis bagi anak yang berada di negara itu tanpa izin?
What happened afterwards
- 1982-06-15: Judgment.
Sources
Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).
Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/us-plyler-1982/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.