Plyler v. Doe (1982)

In Plyler v. Doe (1982), by a 5–4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Texas law that allowed individual school districts to charge the parents of undocumented immigrant children tuition to attend public schools. Justice William Brennan, writing for the majority in Plyler v. Doe, said that laws restricting the children had no state interest and were a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The decision, giving undocumented children the right to a free education when offered by the states, stands after three decades, but remains controversial and is part of the discourse when access to public services for undocumented immigrants is challenged. The decision was a challenge to a Texas law, originally passed in 1975 with little discussion and debate, as part of a broader education bill. The law prohibited spending state funds on students not “legally admitted” to the United States, and allowed school districts to refuse to enroll such students. There was very little discussion or legislative history regarding the law, which was passed at the end of Texas’ biannual, 140-day legislative session.

The Tyler Independent School District began charging $1,000 as tuition for undocumented immigrant students after passage of the bill. James Plyler was the superintendent of the Tyler Independent School District when the policy was created. Approximately 60 students out of a district of 16,000 were impacted. When children were excluded, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) was contacted. MALDEF followed the path established by other civil rights groups early in the 20th century and represented the families who were impacted by the policy.

The case was initially heard in September 1977, and a Texas federal district judge granted a preliminary injunction instructing the district to admit the children after certifying the case as a class action. Judge William Wayne Justice protected the children on the basis of the Fourteenth Amendment, which provides equal protection and due process under the law. This constitutional finding was appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed that the relevant Texas statute violated the equal protection clause. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, combined with In re Alien Children Education Litigation, which represented separate challenges to the Texas law.

Plyler v. Doe was argued before the Supreme Court on December 1, 1981. In conference, the justices were closely divided and initially voted 5–4 to overturn the legislation. The majority opinion was written by Justice William Brennan, who found for a 5–4 majority after he cleverly worked with centrist judges to craft a consensus. Brennan included undocumented immigrants as a protected group under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Brennan was joined by Justices Lewis Powell, Thurgood Marshall, Harry Blackmun, and John Paul Stevens.

Brennan consulted very closely with Justice Powell in order to achieve his majority, sending early drafts to him and other sympathetic justices. Powell's views and worldview played a profound role in shaping the scope of the decision. His majority opinion in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973) ruled that education was not a fundamental right. Powell had also become increasingly concerned about border security and undocumented migration throughout his time on the court during the 1970s. Powell had served on the Richmond, Virginia, school board during struggles with segregation and the implementation of Brown v. Board of Education. The swing vote of his day, Powell had a narrow rationale is reflected in the opinion of the court, which focused on the concept of the innocence of the children.

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