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Education Report: Gov. Abbott says Texas could file suit to deny public education to undocumented children

Texas Governor Greg Abbott
NPR

Abbott speculated about challenging a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision that requires states to offer free education to all children, regardless of immigration status.

Audio transcript

  • Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas could consider challenging a 40-year-old Supreme Court decision requiring states to offer free public education to all children. During a Wednesday appearance on The Joe Pags Show, Abbott expressed opposition to the state being obligated to educate the children of undocumented immigrants. Abbott referred to a 1982 Supreme Court case, Plyler v. Doe. In that decision, the court said states cannot deny students a free public education because of their immigration status. The case resolved a dispute that began in 1977 when the Tyler Independent School District attempted to make children of undocumented immigrants pay tuition. That followed a 1975 state law that prohibited the use of state funds for the education of such children. The Supreme Court ruling struck down that law, but Gov. Abbott said yesterday that Texas could again raise the issue.
  • Many school districts across Texas have bond proposals on local ballots in the upcoming statewide elections on Saturday. Among those districts is the Bonham ISD, which is presenting a $53.6 million package to voters. The vast majority of that would fund the renovation of Rather Junior High School. The Bonham ISD has said the project would not increase the rate of school taxes in the Bonham ISD.