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Plessy V. Ferguson "Equal but Separate"
This landmark stemmed from 1892. African American Homer Plessy refused to sit in a car only for Black people. He argued that the Fourteenth Amendment was being violated but the Separate Car Act did not violate the 13th or 14th Amendments. Plessy was convicted of violating the Separate Car Act. Judge John H. Ferguson later dismissed the disagreement that the act was unconstitutional. This led to regulating African Americans' citizenship to second-class. -
Brown V. Board of Education
They upheld the doctrine of "separate but equal" in schools, denying African Americans to attend certain public schools. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People wanted to abolish this ruling because it violated the Equal Protection Clause. It was said that it was psychologically harmful to African American students. Because of the Plessy V. Ferguson act, the plaintiffs were denied relief in the lower courts. -
Engel V. Vitale & Abington School District v. Schempp
This started with the violation of the First Amendment. In the New York system, they were initiating a nondenominational prayer before school started. This violation was later challenged in Court because it is something the government shouldn't sponsor. This was also directed to Pennsylvania because they were requiring students to read the Bible. School districts gathered together to enforce this statute. -
Tinker v. Des Moines
Mary Beth Tinker started a protest with her brother by wearing armbands to school. This took place in Des Moines, Iowa. It was said to be disruptive to anyone caught wearing these armbands were suspended. They continued with their protest and the students were suspended. Parents then sued the school district for violating their student rights and were supported by the U.S Supreme Court. -
Lemon v. Kurtzman
The First Amendment was being violated in this statute because there was a separation of the church and state. This statute provided funding for nonpublic primary and secondary teacher salaries. They also received aid for instructional materials and textbooks. It was said that the church and state were separate because they were parochial schools. If this law doesn't advance religion or have a secular purpose then it is unconstitutional. -
Title IX
This act protects individuals from being discriminated against based on their sex. This allowed each sex to be involved in certain activities and education programs. Because this nondiscrimination mandate was required, it also occurred in colleges and vocational rehabilitation programs as well. -
San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez
In this act, the Supreme Court created a financing system based on local property taxes that will help fund public schools. This benefited the student, but the individuals being taxed weren't too happy. Three judges stated that this was unconstitutional under the equal protection clause because of wealth. Not many would be able to afford certain taxes. -
Education of All Handicapped Children Act
This act gave children with disabilities equal access to education. This allowed these students to attend public school and get one free meal a day. -
Plyer v. Doe
This action was a lawsuit on behalf of immigrants because not all students were legally admitted into the United States. The Supreme Court later denied schooling to any immigrant students because they were losing school funding. If they wanted their child to continue going to school, they had to pay a $1,000 tuition fee. It was stated that only legal residents were protected by the 14th Amendment, but Texas Violated that clause. -
Board of Education v. Rowley
Amy Rowley was a deaf student that was refused a sign language interpreter by her school. They refused to provide her with an interpreter because they believe she didn't need one since she could read lips, but this stopped her from achieving her full potential in school. Her parents soon sued the school because it violated the act of Education of All Handicapped Children. Of course, the court ruled in the student's favor, allowing Amy to understand more of what she was being taught. -
New Jersey v. TLO
TOL was caught smoking cigarettes in school, so when she was confronted by a school official, they forced her to hand her bad over. They found marijuana and then she was expelled from school. Because of this incident, they allowed public school administrators to search students' belongings if they have any reasonable suspicion of a crime. These school administrators had reasonableness so it wasn't a violation of the Fourth Amendment. -
United States v. Lopez
Alfonzo Lopez who was a 12th grader carried a weapon into campus. He was charged under the statute Gun-Free School Zone. He was found guilty after challenging his conviction. It was said that schools are controlled by the state and local government so it was not substantially related to commerce and they aren't able to ban guns.