Plyler vs. Doe
Ana Grajeda
Marisol Quiroz
Lizet Salazar
What was the history and background of the
court case? Events that led to case.
• 1975 Texas State Law
• Authorization to deny enrollment to illegal immigrants.
• Enabled public school districts to charge tuition.
• 1977 Tyler Independent School District
• Superintendent James Plyeler
• $1, 000 annual tuition
• 4 Families of immigrant children “Doe”
• Lawsuit challenging the policy
What was the history and background of the
court case? Events that led to case. Cont.
• District court
• Policy violated the Constitution
• School District
• Filed petition with Supreme court
• Petition granted.
• Plyler vs. Doe.
Who were the people/parties involved and how they get involved in
such a case?
• Four immigrant families that were identified by the pseudonym of "Doe.”
• James Plyler, superintendent of the Tyler independent school district and the
state of Texas.
• The state of Texas passed a law that gave public schools the right to charge
tuition to immigrant children.
• Four families (Doe) disagreed an filed suit against the school district.
What were the arguments for both sides of the case?
• The state of Texas argued that immigrant parents would have to pay in order to give their
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children an education.
They saw immigrant children as a burden, because modifications would have to be made in
order to accommodate the children.
They also argued that the constitution did not protect them because they were aliens.
The immigrant families did not agree with the law.
They argued that the constitution also defended their natural rights, and their children
deserved equal education.
The families believed that if their children were not given equal education they could not
contribute to the countries success later in the future.
The outcome
• This court case made it possible for illegal immigrant children be able to attend school with
out having to pay a fee of $1,000 and be discriminated by their legal status. It also made it
illegal for the federal government to discriminate against them as well.
• The court case impacted the law in the way that no matter if they are illegal immigrants they
have the right to an education. School districts cannot charge students money because of
their legal status and linguistically diverse, everyone has an equal opportunity to get an
education.
The outcome impact
• The court case impacted the law in the way that no matter if they are illegal
immigrants they have the right to an education. School districts cannot
charge students money because of their legal status and linguistically
diversity everyone has an equal opportunity to get an education.
Summary
• Ana:
• Marisol: I believe this law was made so public schools do not discriminate
students and also the federal government does not push aside the fact that
everyone is entitled to a free education.
• Lizet: Being a Hispanic the outcome of this case was favorable. The fairest
thing was decided, all children deserve equal education no matter their race,
skin color, or ethnicity. This not only created equality but provided the
proper education.
References
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Fitz, M. Wolgin, P. E. Garcia, A. (2012). Triumphs and Challenges on the 30 th Anniversary of Plyler v. Doe: A Landmark Supreme Court Case on
Providing Education to Immigrant Children Under Threat. Retrieved from http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/06/pdf/plyler.pdf
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Immigration Policy Center. (2012). Public Education for Immigrant Students: States Challenge Supreme Court's Decision in Plyler v. Doe. Retrieved
from http://immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/public-education
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Plyler, Superintendent, Tyler Independent School District v. Doe. (). Retrieved from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/plyler.html
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Plyler v. Doe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plyler_v._Doe
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Wright, W. E. (2010). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Pub.