Teachers are protected from discrimination based on race, gender, and age. Discrimination based on disability or national origin is also prohibited. The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects teachers at public schools.
Although he raised a variety of legal issues on appeal, the central argument was that separate school systems for Black students and white students were inherently unequal, and a violation of the "Equal Protection Clause" of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Court found the Texas statute in question to violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court first observed that although the Equal Protection Clause assures the equal treatment of all persons similarly situated, an individual's right to equal treatment is not unqualified.
Through its Equal Protection Clause, Due Process Clause, and by incorporating the Bill of Rights, the Fourteenth Amendment has addressed issues such as which students share a classroom and whether students can be expelled without a hearing or made to recite prayers.
While education may not be a "fundamental right" under the Constitution, the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment requires that when a state establishes a public school system (as in Texas), no child living in that state may be denied equal access to schooling.
The 14th Amendment significantly transformed the legal status of formerly enslaved individuals by granting them U.S. citizenship and equal protection under the law. This was vital for Texans who had been denied basic rights prior to its ratification.
The 5-4 United States Supreme Court decision in San Antonio ISD v. Rodriguez (1973) ruled no constitutional right to an equal education, held no violation of rights in Texas' school system, and reserved jurisdiction and management of Texas' public school finance system to the state.
Through its Equal Protection Clause, Due Process Clause, and by incorporating the Bill of Rights, the Fourteenth Amendment has addressed issues such as which students share a classroom and whether students can be expelled without a hearing or made to recite prayers.
The 5-4 United States Supreme Court decision in San Antonio ISD v. Rodriguez (1973) ruled no constitutional right to an equal education, held no violation of rights in Texas' school system, and reserved jurisdiction and management of Texas' public school finance system to the state.
In 1973's San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, the Supreme Court found that education is not explicitly protected under the U.S. Constitution, and its precedent has remained unchallenged at the Supreme Court for over 30 years.