Key cases: State v. Yoder – Wisconsin, 1971 (182 N.W.2d 539), affirmed, 406 U.S. 205 (1972); State v. Whisner – Ohio, 1976 (351 N.E.2d 750); Johnson v. Charles City Community Schools – Iowa, 1985 (368 N.W.2d 74); Davis v. Grover – Wisconsin, 1992 (480 N.W.2d 460)
“The uniformity clause … does not require the legislature to ensure that all children in Wisconsin receive a free uniform basic education. Rather, [it] requires the legislature to provide the opportunity for all children in Wisconsin to receive a free uniform basic education.” -Justice William Callow, in Davis “The majority opinion … permits the legislature to subvert the unifying, democratizing purpose of public education by using public funds to substitute private education without the concomitant controls exerted over public education.” -Justice Shirley Abrahamson (dissenting), in DavisTO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PERIOD, CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW. YOU CAN ALSO USE THE "SITEMAP" TAB AND THE LINKS ABOVE TO GO TO:
| Amish horse and carriage, Shepshewana, Indiana (courtesy Wikimedia Commons) March against school segregation, Chicago, 1966 (courtesy Library of Congress) “When [an Amish] child reaches the age of judgment, he can choose for himself his religion, but prior to that time the state … ought not to enforce educational requirements which will directly influence that choice.” -Chief Justice E. Harold Hallows, in Yoder “[The state’s right to regulate private schools] plainly extends to such matters as basic parameters for curriculum and teacher qualifications … [Private school children] will have to compete with well-educated children, will associate with them in a society very different from the simple, rural, and largely isolated one that lies ahead for Amish children.” -Justice David Harris, in Charles City |
EMPIRE OF LAWS - The Legal History of the 50 American States > 5. MIDWEST LEGAL HISTORY > 5.6. The Midwest, 1965-Present: The Age of Autonomy >