Epperson et al. v. Arkansas

Decided November 17, 1968. Abe Fortas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 7 · 393 U.S. 97 (1968) · Cited 1,145 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“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.

• Illinois Ex Rel. McCollum v. Board of Ed. of School Dist. No. 71, Champaign Cty. · 333 U.S. 203 (1948)
• Meyer v. Nebraska · 262 U.S. 390 (1923)
• Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
• Keyishian v. Board of Regents of Univ. of State of NY · 385 U.S. 589 (1967)
• United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
• Connally v. General Construction Co. · 269 U.S. 385 (1926)
• Shelton v. Tucker · 364 U.S. 479 (1960)
• Cox v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 536 (1965)
• Watson v. Jones · 80 U.S. 679 (1872)
• Cox v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 559 (1965)
• Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson · 343 U.S. 495 (1952)
• Zorach v. Clauson · 343 U.S. 306 (1952)
• Engel v. Vitale · 370 U.S. 421 (1962)
• Torcaso v. Watkins · 367 U.S. 488 (1961)
• Cramp v. Board of Public Instruction of Orange Cty. · 368 U.S. 278 (1961)
• Fowler v. Rhode Island · 345 U.S. 67 (1953)

Cited by

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

• Edwards v. Aguillard · 482 U.S. 578 (1987)
• Board of Ed., Island Trees Union Free School Dist. No. 26 v. Pico · 457 U.S. 853 (1982)
• Lynch v. Donnelly · 465 U.S. 668 (1984)
• Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier · 484 U.S. 260 (1988)
• Lee v. Weisman · 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
• Gillette v. United States · 401 U.S. 437 (1971)
• Carson v. Makin · 596 U.S. 767 (2022)
• Goss v. Lopez · 419 U.S. 565 (1975)
• County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union · 492 U.S. 573 (1989)
• Welsh v. United States · 398 U.S. 333 (1970)
• Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock · 489 U.S. 1 (1989)
• Mahmoud v. Taylor · 606 U.S. 522 (2025)
• Wallace v. Jaffree · 472 U.S. 38 (1985)
• Larson v. Valente · 456 U.S. 228 (1982)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist · 413 U.S. 756 (1973)
• Marsh v. Chambers · 463 U.S. 783 (1983)
• Good News Club v. Milford Central School · 533 U.S. 98 (2001)
• McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union of Ky. · 545 U.S. 844 (2005)
• Minnesota State Board for Community Colleges v. Knight · 465 U.S. 271 (1984)
• Board of Ed. of Kiryas Joel Village School Dist. v. Grumet · 512 U.S. 687 (1994)
• Palmer v. Thompson · 403 U.S. 217 (1971)
• McDaniel v. Paty · 435 U.S. 618 (1978)
• Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Comm'n. · 605 U.S. 238 (2025)
• Roe v. Wade · 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
• Simon v. Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Organization · 426 U.S. 26 (1976)
• United States v. Lopez · 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
• Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley Ex Rel. Rowley · 458 U.S. 176 (1982)
• Steffel v. Thompson · 415 U.S. 452 (1974)
• New Jersey v. T. L. O. · 469 U.S. 325 (1985)
• Wood v. Strickland · 420 U.S. 308 (1975)

Official text

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).