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Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson passed on May 18th, 1896. It introduced the saying "separate but equal". It was directed toward the Fourteenth Amendment (1868), which prohibits states from denying "equal protection of the laws" to any person. However, states still achieved racial segregation by separate but not very equal public services for African Americans and whites. African Americans had to endure going to separate classes, using separate restrooms, and eating in separate tables from whites. -
Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka
Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark case where justices voted unanimously that "separate but equal" was not equal at all. This case ended racial segregation in public schools and it allowed African American children and white children to attend both schools. This case came to be because of many other cases, deriving from Kansas, Delaware, the District of Colombia, South Carolina, and Virginia. -
Tinker v. Des Moines
Tinker v. Des Moines began when a group of students decided to wear black armbands to protest the Vietnam war. Their school decided to punish anyone with a black armband, resulting in parents suing the school for violation of free speech. The US Supreme court ruled in favor of the students, agreeing that students' rights should be protected and students "don't shed their constitutional rights at the school house gates. -
Title IX
Title IX protects people from sexual discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding. It reassures people who receive federal funding that they will not be discriminated against. It also makes women feel safe from discrimination in educational environments. -
Education of all Handicapped Children Act
Education of all Handicapped Children Act was passed in 1975 and it allowed all schools receiving federal funding to provide handicapped children equal education and required that the be placed in a least restrictive environment. This law allowed children with any type of disability to have access to public education and school weren't allowed to forbid it. This case came alone with the Civil Rights Movement, which also fought for equal rights for children with disabilities. -
Plyler v. Doe
Pyler v. Doe was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court ruled that states can't deny students free public education based of their immigration status. The court decided that immigrants were people and the deserved to be protected by the Fourteenth Amendment regardless of their immigration status. Any school who deny an immigrant child free education is violating the Fourteenth Amendment. -
Bethel School District #43 v. Fraser
Bethel School District #43 v. Fraser was a landmark case in which the Supreme Court decided that it was appropriate for the school to prohibit vulgar speeches on school grounds. The question was raised whether the punishment by schools to students who use offensive language during a speech is constitutional. The court concluded that the decision was not violating the Fourteenth Amendment and schools do have a say in what students cannot say during a speech. -
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe began when one student delivered a prayer over the public address system before everyone. Families challenged this and the Supreme Court decided that the District allowing students to pray violated the Establishment Clause. Since the school is on government grounds, and the government is not permitted to participate in religion or exercise it, prayer during school violated it.