Plyler, Superintendent, Tyler Independent School District, et al. v. Doe, Guardian, et al.

Decided June 15, 1982. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 80-1538 · 457 U.S. 202 (1982) · Cited 2,739 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 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.

• San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 1 (1973)
• De Canas v. Bica · 424 U.S. 351 (1976)
• Mathews v. Diaz · 426 U.S. 67 (1976)
• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• Shapiro v. Thompson · 394 U.S. 618 (1969)
• Takahashi v. Fish & Game Commission · 334 U.S. 410 (1948)
• Reynolds v. Sims · 377 U.S. 533 (1964)
• Graham v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 365 (1971)
• Wisconsin v. Yoder · 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
• Weber v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. · 406 U.S. 164 (1972)
• Trimble v. Gordon · 430 U.S. 762 (1977)
• Wong Wing v. United States · 163 U.S. 228 (1896)
• Hampton v. Mow Sun Wong · 426 U.S. 88 (1976)
• Lalli v. Lalli · 439 U.S. 259 (1978)
• United States v. Wong Kim Ark · 169 U.S. 649 (1898)
• Nyquist v. Mauclet · 432 U.S. 1 (1977)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Yick Wo v. Hopkins · 118 U.S. 356 (1886)
• Meyer v. Nebraska · 262 U.S. 390 (1923)
• Hines v. Davidowitz · 312 U.S. 52 (1941)
• Craig v. Boren · 429 U.S. 190 (1976)
• Dunn v. Blumstein · 405 U.S. 330 (1972)
• Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections · 383 U.S. 663 (1966)
• Lindsey v. Normet · 405 U.S. 56 (1972)
• Harisiades v. Shaughnessy · 342 U.S. 580 (1952)
• Jefferson v. Hackney · 406 U.S. 535 (1972)
• Tigner v. Texas · 310 U.S. 141 (1940)
• Ambach v. Norwick · 441 U.S. 68 (1979)
• Reed v. Reed · 404 U.S. 71 (1971)
• Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill · 437 U.S. 153 (1978)

Cited by

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

• Kadrmas v. Dickinson Public Schools · 487 U.S. 450 (1988)
• Martinez Ex Rel. Morales v. Bynum · 461 U.S. 321 (1983)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• United States v. Skrmetti · 605 U.S. 495 (2025)
• United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez · 494 U.S. 259 (1990)
• Selective Service System v. Minnesota Public Interest Research Group · 468 U.S. 841 (1984)
• Attorney General of New York v. Soto-Lopez · 476 U.S. 898 (1986)
• Papasan v. Allain · 478 U.S. 265 (1986)
• Lawrence v. Texas · 539 U.S. 558 (2003)
• Jean v. Nelson · 472 U.S. 846 (1985)
• Lyng v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, & Agricultural Implement Workers · 485 U.S. 360 (1988)
• Trump v. CASA, Inc. · 606 U.S. 831 (2025)
• Zadvydas v. Davis · 533 U.S. 678 (2001)
• New Jersey v. T. L. O. · 469 U.S. 325 (1985)
• Arizona v. United States · 567 U.S. 387 (2012)
• Grutter v. Bollinger · 539 U.S. 306 (2003)
• City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, Inc. · 462 U.S. 416 (1983)
• Sale v. Haitian Centers Council, Inc. · 509 U.S. 155 (1993)
• Eldred v. Ashcroft · 537 U.S. 186 (2003)
• Vacco v. Quill · 521 U.S. 793 (1997)
• Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College · 600 U.S. 181 (2023)
• Trump v. New York · 592 U.S. 125 (2020)
• Crawford v. Board of Ed. of Los Angeles · 458 U.S. 527 (1982)
• Carson v. Makin · 596 U.S. 767 (2022)
• Agency for Int'l Development v. Alliance for Open Society · 591 U.S. 430 (2020)

Official text

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

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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).