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Pierce v. Society of Sisters

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Case Basics
Docket No.: 
583
Petitioner: 
Pierce
Respondent: 
Society of Sisters
Decided By: 
Taft Court (1925-1930)
Opinion: 
268 U.S. 510 (1925)
Argued: 
Monday, March 16, 1925
Decided: 
Monday, June 1, 1925
Categories: 
children, justiciability, freedom of religion, first amendment, education

Cite this page
The Oyez Project, Pierce v. Society of Sisters , 268 U.S. 510 (1925)
available at: (http://oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1924/1924_583)
(last visited Saturday, July 4, 2009).
Facts of the Case: 

The Compulsory Education Act of 1922 required parents or guardians to send children between the ages of eight and sixteen to public school in the district where the children resided. The Society of Sisters was an Oregon corporation which facilitated care for orphans, educated youths, and established and maintained academies or schools. This case was decided together with Society of Sisters v. Hill Military Academy.

Question: 

Did the Act violate the liberty of parents to direct the education of their children?

Conclusion: 

Yes. The unanimous Court held that "the fundamental liberty upon which all governments in this Union repose excludes any general power of the State to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only."