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Immigration Status of
Students—Proposition 187 of 1994*
and Welfare Reform Act of 1996
The issue of illegal immigration in California has resulted in a variety of laws and legal
challenges. Critics have suggested that school-age children residing illegally in
California should be denied a free public education. Regardless of individual opinion,
current law requires:
• Free public K–12 education for all school-age children in California, regardless
of alienage
• Compulsory school attendance of each person in California between the ages of
six and eighteen, regardless of alienage
Although age and residency must be established, there is no requirement that
citizenship be established. As discussed below, even inquiring about citizenship as a
condition of enrollment is currently prohibited.
Plyler v. Doe
On September 27, 1981, the California State Board of Education (SBE) filed an amicus
curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court in the case of Plyler v. Doe, 457 US
202 (1982). In arguing against Texas statutes that denied public school enrollment and
withheld state funds from local school districts for children “illegally admitted” to the
United States, the SBE stated:
As educators concerned with the provision of quality education for all
children and for the improvement of society through an educated
population, the California State Board of Education believes strongly that
there is no rational educational or fiscal purpose in excluding children of
illegal aliens from receiving the educational opportunities available to all
other children. (Amicus Curiae Brief at p. 27)
Consistent with the SBE’s position, the United States Supreme Court held the Texas
statute unconstitutional because it violated the equal protection clause of the 14th
Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects “any person,” not just “any
citizen.” Because the Plyler decision applies to every state and is still valid, the same
test of constitutionality applies to any state law that conditions California school
attendance on citizenship.
Welfare Reform Act of 1996
Provision of public services to immigrants is addressed in the federal Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Certain public health
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