Equal Protection Clause Requires a Free Public Education for Illegal Alien Children

Abstract

Analyses the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Plyler v. Doe. In Plyler, the Court held that a Texas statute that allows school districts to deny enrollment to children of illegal aliens violated the equal protection clause. Applying intermediate scrutiny, the Court found no substantial goal of the State that was furthered by the statute. The author considers this case in light of the potential for congressional amnesty and warns of the disastrous effects of permitting a state to create a “subclass of illiterates within its borders.”