Educational Choice: The Legacy of \u3ci\u3eMeyer v. Nebraska\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3ePierce v. Society of Sisters\u3c/i\u3e: Introduction

Abstract

One hundred years ago, in 1925, in a lawsuit brought by parochial and private schools, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously struck down an Oregon state law requiring children to attend only public schools. Two years earlier, in 1923, the Court struck down a state law prohibiting the teaching of foreign languages to young children. Midway between the hundredth anniversaries of these two decisions—in March 2024—the Classical Liberal Institute at New York University School of Law sponsored a symposium in conjunction with this Journal on “Educational Choice: The Legacy of Meyer v. Nebraska and Pierce v. Society of Sisters”. This Introduction gives an overview of how and why growing numbers of American families now opt for alternatives to the public schools for their children. Longstanding concerns about educational quality have been compounded more recently by concerns about ideological bias and sexual politics in public school classrooms. The Meyer and Pierce decisions—so long as they last—ensure that educational alternatives, and parental choice about their children’s schooling, have a degree of constitutional protection. The symposium papers which follow explore the implications of these decisions for schooling policies in America today and in times to come