Facts—In November 1922, the state of Oregon passed a Compulsory Education Act requiring every child from the ages of eight to sixteen to attend public school. Parents or guardians who refused would be guilty of a misdemeanor. The plaintiff corporation conducted a group of private schools, according to the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church. They brought suit challenging that the statute conflicted with the right of parents to choose schools where their children would receive appropriate moral and religious training, and the right of schools and teachers to engage in a useful business or profession.
Question—Can a state require children to attend public schools?
Decision—No.
Reasons—J. McReynolds (9–0). Rights guaranteed by the Constitution may not be abridged by state legislation that has no reasonable relation to some purpose within the competency of the state. The liberty of the Constitution forbids the standardization of children by compelling them to attend public school instruction only. “The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.
“We think it entirely plain that the act of 1922 unreasonably interferes with the liberty of parents and guardians to direct the upbringing and education of children under their control.”
Also, the corporations or schools involved had business and property for which they had a claim to protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. These rights, the Court held, were threatened with destruction through this unwarranted compulsion.