Is Plyler Set for Expulsion?

Guest blogger: Taylor Doty, law student, University of San Francisco

For over four decades, Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982), has stood as one of America’s most fundamental educational guarantees, affording all children, regardless of their immigration status, a constitutional right to free public school. However, that precedent faces its most serious threat since it was decided.

Since January of this year, lawmakers in six states–Idaho, Indiana, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas, and Tennessee–have introduced legislation explicitly designed to challenge Plyler’s Protections.^[1] This is not a coincidence but rather a coordinated strategy, openly articulated by Heritage Foundation, to provoke legislation that will provide the current Supreme Court with the opportunity to reconsider what they believe to be an “ill-considered” decision with “no basis in the law.”^[2]

And the strategy is working. Tennessee’s HB 793 nearly became law earlier this year, coming closer than any previous attempt by any other state. The bill would have required students to prove citizenship or legal status to enroll in their public school without paying tuition.^[3] Sound familiar? That’s because it was the Texas law at issue in Plyler. The Tennessee bill was defeated not on constitutional grounds, not even on moral grounds, but simply because it was paused for financial review. The passing of HB793 would have cost Tennessee over $1 billion in federal education funding – thankfully, money talks, and the sponsor withdrew the bill.

In Oklahoma, a more subtle approach was taken. Rather than requiring an outright fee, State Superintendent Ryan Walters proposed a plan that would require schools to collect immigration status data from enrolling families.^[4] While this technically wouldn’t bar undocumented students from enrolling, it would apply, and seems to be intended to allow, to direct collaboration with immigration enforcement.^[5] Sending the message to immigrant families that school is no longer a safe place for their children.^[6]

Both Tennessee and Oklahoma’s challenges to Plyler’s matter because they reveal an appetite, given today’s political and legal climate, to reevaluate and potentially terminate rights previously afforded. Another piece of the Heritage Foundation's puzzle to unravel rights once held fundamental.

And they have a good chance of success. This Supreme Court has shown a remarkable willingness to overturn longstanding precedent when it conflicts with the conservative legal movement’s priorities. Dobbs and Students for Fair Admissions, just to name a few, are examples of this Court’s willingness to dismantle decades of legal precedent in the name of “wrongly decided decisions.” 

Unfortunately, Plyler is likely next because Justice Brennan’s opinion relied on an expansive reading of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. In fact, he acknowledged the case presented a unique set of circumstances, which led the narrow majority to find that undocumented children constitute a quasi-suspect class and that education, while not fundamental, occupies a unique position in our constitutional framework – reasoning that runs counter to the current Court’s originalist interpretation.

            But perhaps what troubles me most is what these challenges say about American values at this moment. Education has traditionally been seen as a uniquely nonpunitive space. A place where children, who had no agency in the decision-making of their parents, could still access the tools needed to positively contribute to society. Since when did punishing students for their parents’ status become something worth punishing? Since when did it “comport with fundamental concepts of justice”?

            The 42-year consensus that all children, regardless of how they arrived in this country, deserve an education may soon join the list of has-been precedents, so those who value Plyler’s protections should prepare for a fight on the main stage, where the outcomes will have devastating impacts, as approximately 600,000 undocumented children currently attend U.S. public schools.^[7] 

^[1] Niskanen Center, "The price of denial: State lawmakers' efforts to undermine Plyler v. Doe and the fiscal fallacy of exclusion," June 18, 2025. https://www.niskanencenter.org/the-price-of-denial-state-lawmakers-efforts-to-undermine-plyler-v-doe-and-the-fiscal-fallacy-of-exclusion/.

^[2] All4Ed, "The Fight for Education Access: Defending Plyler v. DOE in 2025," July 17, 2025. https://all4ed.org/blog/the-fight-for-education-access-defending-plyler-v-doe-in-2025/.

^[3] Id.

^[4] Niskanen Center, "Defending Plyler v. Doe's legacy in 2025," February 3, 2025. https://www.niskanencenter.org/defending-plyler-v-does-legacy-in-2025/.

^[5] Id.

^[6] See, Id.

^[7] FWD.us, "At least 600,000 K-12 undocumented students need a pathway to citizenship," accessed December 2025. https://www.fwd.us/news/k-12-undocumented-students.

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