The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that the Constitution’s 14th Amendment prohibits states from denying a free public education to undocumented children regardless of their immigration status.
Twenty-three years later, the same ruling applies.
In public school districts, children who attend schools are not required to provide any documentation proving their legal residence, such as a birth certificate, a Social Security card or a passport.
“We are in the education business,” said Quillayute Valley School District Superintendent Frank Walter when explaining why district officials don’t ask for the legal status of students.
“We are not related to the [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services].
“Our mission is to teach all kids that come to us.”
The landmark U.S. Supreme Court case was Plyer v. Doe, in which Justice William Brennan cited the 14th Amendment in his majority opinion that upheld an earlier U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision.
The question before the court in that case was whether a Texas statute denying a free, public education to undocumented children was legal.