Published: July 4, 2025
Key Takeaways
- As the Court has become more conservative in recent years, a greater number of its decisions have negatively impacted public schools, a cornerstone of our democracy.
- Educator unions are among the many groups advocating for reforms and demanding a Court that will protect public education as well as voting rights, civil rights, and labor rights.
- NEA frequently participates in Supreme Court litigation, often as amicus curiae or a “friend of the court.” In these cases, NEA is not a party to an action but has an interest in the case and submits a brief to the Court to influence the Court’s decision. Such briefs are called “amicus briefs.”
When the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Brown v. Board of Education on May 17, 1954, it forever changed our education system. The legal segregation of public schools was over.
Though we are still working to fulfill the promise of Brown v. Board—by, for example, fighting backlash policies known to worsen school segregation such as voucher schemes—the Brown decision was, without question, an enormous leap forward.
While the significance of that decision is generally understood, many people don’t realize that the Supreme Court issues decisions nearly every year that impact public education in some way.
Grading the Supreme Court
In our system of government, the Supreme Court is the ultimate guardian of our rights and freedoms. Some of the Court’s key decisions over the years have moved us further toward our shared vision of great public schools for every student. But other decisions are a setback to progress.
As the Court has become more conservative in recent years, a greater number of its decisions have negatively impacted public schools, a cornerstone of our democracy.
In its ruling in Carson v. Makin (2022), for example, the Court undermined public education by nullifying state constitutional protections against aid to religious schools. And in 2018, it attempted to weaken labor unions by reversing decades of precedent to bar unions from charging non-members for the costs of union representation in Janus v. AFSCME (2018).
Using a “pass-fail” grading system, NEA evaluated key Supreme Court decisions that affect public schools. Sadly, the Court’s string of “fails” over the past decade threatens the progress we’ve made to advance equity in public education:
Key Supreme Court Decisions Affecting Public Education
GRADE: FAIL
Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896
This case challenged the constitutionality of racial segregation after Homer Plessy, an activist of mixed racial ancestry, was arrested for sitting in a “whites only” railroad car in Louisiana. The Supreme Court ruled that segregation did not violate the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause if the separate facilities for Black and white people were equal, a “separate but equal” mandate that was not enforced. This decision had a profound impact on education—it legalized the segregation of students by race, perpetuating education inequities for Black students and other students of color, who were much more likely to attend underfunded, overcrowded schools that lacked basic resources like books.
GRADE: FAIL
Tennessee v. Scopes, 1925
High school teacher John Scopes was put on trial in 1925 for teaching evolution in a Tennessee public school, which violated state law at the time. The trial—which would come to be known as the "Scopes Monkey Trial"—became a national spectacle. Although Scopes was found guilty and fined, the trial sparked a major public debate about the idea that religious beliefs should control what’s taught in public schools. But it took decades to reverse the ban on teaching evolution; the turning point came in 1968, when the Supreme Court struck down Arkansas’ ban on teaching evolution in Epperson v. Arkansas.
GRADE: PASS
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine established by Plessy v. Ferguson. The case was brought by Black families with children in Topeka schools, including Oliver Brown, whose daughter Linda had to travel a long distance and cross dangerous railroad tracks to get to a segregated Black school, even though a white school was much closer to her home. The families argued that segregated schools were inherently unequal and harmed Black children’s ability to learn and thrive. The Court agreed, stating that separating children because of their race “generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone.”
GRADE: PASS
Tinker v. Des Moines, 1969
This case began when a group of teenagers that included siblings Mary Beth and John Tinker wore black armbands to school in protest of America’s role in the Vietnam War. They were suspended by school officials who feared that the armbands could cause disruptions to the school day. The students and their families sued, arguing that their free speech rights had been violated. The Court sided with the students, famously stating that neither “students [nor] teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” This ruling empowered subsequent generations of students to express opinions—about politics, social issues, or personal beliefs—without fear of punishment, if they do so thoughtfully and peacefully.
GRADE: PASS
Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971
This case challenged laws in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island that allowed the government to reimburse religious schools for teacher salaries and educational materials. The Court said that using public money to support religious schools blurred the line between government and religion, which is forbidden by the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The ruling also established the "Lemon Test," a three-part rule to determine if a law improperly supports religion, helping to protect public schools from being entangled with religious influence. However, as the Court has grown increasingly conservative in recent years, it has questioned the continued relevance of the Lemon Test and issued decisions that undermine the clear boundary between church and state, allowing public dollars to begin to flow to religious schools (see Carson v. Makin below).
GRADE: FAIL
San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, 1973
This case was brought by a group of parents from San Antonio, Texas, who lived in the Edgewood Independent School District, a poor and mostly Latino community. They argued that the way schools were funded—mainly through local property taxes—was unfair and discriminated against students in low-income areas. But the Court ruled that the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause “does not require absolute equality or precisely equal advantages" and that education is not a fundamental right that is entitled to greater protection under the Constitution. To this day, most school finance systems are still based on local property taxes.
GRADE: FAIL
Milliken v. Bradley, 1974
This case concerns an effort to desegregate public schools in Detroit. A lower court agreed with the plan—which included the mostly white suburbs—to bus students across district lines to help integrate schools. However, the Supreme Court overturned that ruling, saying suburban districts couldn’t be forced to participate unless it was proven they had intentionally caused the segregation. The lasting effect of this decision and Rodriguez (above) are felt to this day, as the Court’s ruling locked students of color and students who live in low-income areas into segregated schools with fewer resources.
GRADE: PASS
Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur, 1974
It may seem hard to believe today, but as recently as the 1970s, it was common for school districts to enforce policies that forced pregnant teachers to go on leave months before giving birth—right around the time they would begin to “show.” Diane LeFleur, a public junior high school teacher from Cleveland, Ohio, challenged that policy in her district, and her case eventually landed in the Supreme Court. The Court struck down these “mandatory maternity leave” rules, which required teachers to take unpaid leave at a fixed point during pregnancy, regardless of their health or ability to work. Such policies, the Court said, violate the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment because they unfairly interfere with teachers’ employment rights without considering individual circumstances.
GRADE: PASS
Plyler v. Doe, 1982
In Plyler v. Doe, the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot deny a K-12 public school education to children simply because they are undocumented immigrants. This case challenged a Texas law that withheld funding for schools that educate undocumented children and allowed districts to refuse them enrollment. The Court decided this violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, emphasizing that education is a fundamental right that should be accessible to all children regardless of immigration status. This ruling was a powerful affirmation of the rights and dignity of vulnerable children and recognized that education is key to equal opportunity and social inclusion.
GRADE: FAIL
Janus v. AFSCME, 2018
This decision fulfilled a long-term goal on the right to weaken labor unions. In Janus v. AFSCME, the Supreme Court ruled that public sector workers cannot be required to pay union fees if they are not members, even though the union is still legally required to represent them. The case was brought by Mark Janus, a state employee in Illinois, who argued that paying “fair share” fees to the union violated his First Amendment rights. The Court sided with Janus in a 5–4 decision, overturning a 40-year precedent that had allowed unions to collect fees from non-members to cover the costs of collective bargaining.
GRADE: PASS
Carson v. Makin, 2022
In 2022, the Court’s conservative supermajority dealt another blow to public education and the separation of church and state while bolstering the radical right’s pro-voucher agenda. It ruled that Maine could not exclude religious schools from a state-funded tuition assistance program for students in rural areas that lack public high schools. The Court held that if the state offers public money to any private schools, it must include religious ones too, overturning Maine’s policy preventing public funds from supporting schools that provide religious instruction. This ruling essentially forces taxpayers to fund religious education, even though those schools are not accountable to the public and may discriminate against certain students and staff.
GRADE: FAIL
Yeshiva University v. YU Pride Alliance, 2022
In 2020, the YU Pride Alliance, an LGBTQ student advocacy and support group, was denied official recognition from Yeshiva University. After repeated attempts for recognition, the students filed suit, arguing that the university had violated New York City’s Human Rights Law. Yeshiva University cited its religious identity to claim exemption from the law, but LGBTQ rights supporters stressed that no institution should be allowed to discriminate under the guise of religious freedom. The Court’s ruling in this case sets a dangerous precedent that could undermine hard-won civil rights.
GRADE: FAIL
Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina, 2023
In this landmark ruling, the Court struck down the use of race-conscious admissions policies at both Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, holding that their policies violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The decision bolsters the long-term goal of far-right conservatives to dismantle affirmative action policies, which they characterize as “reverse discrimination.” It is a serious setback after decades of progress in fostering diversity on campuses, which has been shown to enhance educational outcomes for all students while attempting to address historical and systemic inequalities, particularly for Black, Latino, and Indigenous students, who have faced centuries of exclusion from higher education.
GRADE: PASS
St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond/Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, 2025
In this pair of cases, the Court was asked to decide whether the Oklahoma Supreme Court correctly found that a state charter school authorizing board’s decision to create the nation’s first religious public charter school violated the Oklahoma state constitution, the state charter school statute, and the U.S. Constitution. After Justice Amy Coney Barret recused herself due to her friendship with one of the advocates in the case, the court was deadlocked at 4-4, which means the decision of the lower court stands. However, the ruling sets no nationwide precedent on the contentious legal question—which will no doubt arise again—of whether religious schools must be able to participate in taxpayer-funded state charter school programs.
GRADE: FAIL
Mahmoud v. Taylor, 2025
This decision works against efforts to provide all students with an engaging and inclusive public education. The case centered on whether schools must allow parents to opt their children out of lessons that include LGBTQ issues and stories. In a 6–3 decision, the court ruled that schools must allow parents to remove their children from any lessons involving LGBTQ-inclusive books if those lessons clash with their religious beliefs. The burdensome new requirements on educators and public schools undermine their ability to provide students with an inclusive education and sets back the progress educators and parents have made over decades to support a curriculum that reflects the real-world diversity of our communities.
On the Path Toward Justice
Educators are united in their belief that every student deserves the opportunity to get a great education in a welcoming and well-resourced public school. Providing that education requires strong support from every level of government—local, state, and federal—and every branch of government—executive, legislative, and judicial.
But today we face a conservative supermajority in the Supreme Court, with six of the nine justices leaning very conservative. This imbalance is by design.
Educator unions are among the many groups advocating for reforms and demanding a Court that will protect public education as well as voting rights, civil rights, and labor rights.
For decades, the ultraconservative right has sought to control our federal courts. The Trump administration and Senate Republicans have been highly effective in packing the federal courts with conservative justices and ramming through conservative Supreme Court nominees to advance their agenda.
Educator unions are among the many groups advocating for reforms and demanding a Court that will protect public education as well as voting rights, civil rights, and labor rights.
Expansion of the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court, during the Trump Administration would likely lead to a judiciary packed with ultraconservative judges, whose lifetime appointments would have devastating impacts on our nation’s hard-fought progress. However, NEA’s efforts to implement ethics reform at the Supreme Court are ongoing.
What is NEA’s role in Supreme Court cases?
NEA frequently participates in Supreme Court litigation, often as amicus curiae or a “friend of the court.” In these cases, NEA is not a party to an action but has an interest in the case and submits a brief to the Court to influence the Court’s decision. Such briefs are called “amicus briefs.”
NEA has been a longstanding and outspoken supporter of race-conscious college admissions policies. NEA filed an amicus brief in support of such policies in Regents of Univ. of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978), and has done so in every other related Supreme Court case since, unlike several other unions that either remained silent or opposed race-conscious admissions policies.
This year, the National Education Association filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Mahmoud v. Taylor. The brief argued that the advance notice, opt-out procedures, and alternative learning arrangements at issue would impede efforts to provide students with a full, engaging, and inclusive education.
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