Which case declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional?

Which case declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional?

• A. Brown v. Board of Education
• B. Plessy v. Ferguson
• C. Dred Scott v. Sandford
• D. Marbury v. Madison

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is that a Supreme Court ruling established that separating students by race in public schools is unconstitutional, because such separation is inherently unequal. The decision held that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment requires that public education be integrated and that state-sponsored segregation violates that guarantee. This overturned the earlier idea from Plessy v. Ferguson, which had allowed “separate but equal” facilities to stand. The ruling focused specifically on schooling and acted as a major catalyst for desegregation, though actual integration unfolded unevenly across the country in the years that followed. For broader context, it’s worth noting that Dred Scott v. Sandford dealt with citizenship and slavery before the Civil War, and Marbury v. Madison established judicial review—the power of courts to interpret the Constitution.

The key idea here is that a Supreme Court ruling established that separating students by race in public schools is unconstitutional, because such separation is inherently unequal. The decision held that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment requires that public education be integrated and that state-sponsored segregation violates that guarantee. This overturned the earlier idea from Plessy v. Ferguson, which had allowed “separate but equal” facilities to stand. The ruling focused specifically on schooling and acted as a major catalyst for desegregation, though actual integration unfolded unevenly across the country in the years that followed. For broader context, it’s worth noting that Dred Scott v. Sandford dealt with citizenship and slavery before the Civil War, and Marbury v. Madison established judicial review—the power of courts to interpret the Constitution.