College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board et al.

Decided June 23, 1999. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 98-149 · 527 U.S. 666 (1999) · Cited 1,377 times

Holding

The Act’s abrogation of States’ sovereign immunity is invalid because it cannot be sustained as legislation enacted to enforce the guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Parden v. Terminal Railway of Alabama State Docks Department · 377 U.S. 184 (1964)
• Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida · 517 U.S. 44 (1996)
• Employees of Department of Public Health v. Department of Public Health · 411 U.S. 279 (1973)
• Welch v. Texas Department of Highways & Public Transportation · 483 U.S. 468 (1987)
• Lochner v. New York · 198 U.S. 45 (1905)
• Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
• Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co. · 491 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Edelman v. Jordan · 415 U.S. 651 (1974)
• Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer · 427 U.S. 445 (1976)
• International News Service v. Associated Press · 248 U.S. 215 (1919)
• White v. Massachusetts Council of Construction Employers, Inc. · 460 U.S. 204 (1983)
• California v. Taylor · 353 U.S. 553 (1957)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 465 U.S. 89 (1984)
• Great Northern Life Insurance Co. v. Read · 322 U.S. 47 (1944)
• Hughes v. Alexandria Scrap Corp. · 426 U.S. 794 (1976)
• Principality of Monaco v. Mississippi · 292 U.S. 313 (1934)
• United States v. California · 297 U.S. 175 (1936)
• Beers Ex Rel. Platenius v. Arkansas · 61 U.S. 527 (1858)
• City of Boerne v. Flores · 521 U.S. 507 (1997)
• South Dakota v. Dole · 483 U.S. 203 (1987)
• Ex Parte State of New York, No. 1 · 256 U.S. 490 (1921)
• Petty v. Tennessee-Missouri Bridge Commission · 359 U.S. 275 (1959)
• Gardner v. New Jersey · 329 U.S. 565 (1947)
• Reeves, Inc. v. Stake · 447 U.S. 429 (1980)
• Johnson v. Zerbst · 304 U.S. 458 (1938)
• Paul v. Davis · 424 U.S. 693 (1976)
• Cohens v. Virginia · 19 U.S. 264 (1821)
• United States v. King · 395 U.S. 1 (1969)
• Kaiser Aetna v. United States · 444 U.S. 164 (1979)
• Printz v. United States · 521 U.S. 898 (1997)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius · 567 U.S. 519 (2012)
• Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents · 528 U.S. 62 (2000)
• Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service v. Kirtz · 601 U.S. 42 (2024)
• Board of Trustees of Univ. of Ala. v. Garrett · 531 U.S. 356 (2001)
• Lapides v. Board of Regents of Univ. System of Ga. · 535 U.S. 613 (2002)
• Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community · 572 U.S. 782 (2014)
• Raygor v. Regents of the University of Minnesota · 534 U.S. 533 (2002)
• Allen v. Cooper · 589 U.S. 248 (2020)
• Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs · 538 U.S. 721 (2003)
• Verizon Maryland Inc. v. Public Service Commission of Maryland · 535 U.S. 635 (2002)
• Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 · 567 U.S. 298 (2012)
• Wellness Int'l Network, Ltd. v. Sharif · 575 U.S. 665 (2015)
• Janus v. State, County, and Municipal Employees · 585 U.S. 878 (2018)
• Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority · 535 U.S. 743 (2002)
• Alabama v. North Carolina · 560 U.S. 330 (2010)
• Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety · 597 U.S. 580 (2022)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1999). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).