1. Using the Courts to further the Cause
OBJECTIVE: To analyze how the decisions of the court played a role in the expansion of civil liberties.

2. Wisconsin v. Yoder
Supreme Court ruled that Amish children could not be forced to go to school past the 8th Grade
Freedom of Religion superseded the states desire to educate all students

3. Turn and Talk
Roberto Alvarez v. Board of Trustees of Lemon Grove School District, 1930
As you watching the video, answer the following questions:
When was this case brought before the Supreme Court?
What issue was brought before the Supreme Court?
What connections can we make to information we learned in previous units?

4. Mendez v. Westminster
This case challenged racial segregation in schools in California.
Students who did not speak English were placed in separate “Mexican schools”
Court ruled that segregation of Mexican and Mexican American students into separate “Mexican schools” was unconstitutional.

6. Delgado v. Bastrop ISD
The public education system in Texas for Mexican Americans offered segregated campuses with poorer facilities and limited students to vocational training
LULAC and the American G.I. Forum helped challenge these segregation laws
Court ruled Texas has to end segregation of Mexican American students but did allow separate classrooms on the same campus.

7. Hernandez v. Texas
No person with a Spanish surname allowed to serve on jury.
Hernandez was convicted and said he did not receive due process under 14th amendment
Texas argued that Mexican Americans were white, so he received fair trial.
Supreme Court said there was a difference between white and Hispanic and you could not exclude from a jury based on class.

10. White v. Regester
Challenged redistricting in Texas, which kept Mexican Americans from being elected
Supreme Court ruled that at large elections were discriminatory and so unconstitutional
Created single-member districts
After the Supreme Court decision the number of African American and Hispanic American representatives doubled.

12. Edgewood ISD v. Kirby
Public school finance case – no equal funding
Since funding was based on property tax – areas with lower property values received less tax dollars
Court ruled legislature would have to change the way it funded schools to make it more equal.
ROBIN HOOD – Money is taken from richer schools and given to poorer schools.

13. Other Landmark Civil Rights Cases
Hernandez v. Driscoll Consolidated ISD, 1948
Ended all pedagogical and de jure segregation in Texas Public Education
Cisneros v. Corpus Christi ISD, 1970
Recognized Hispanics as an identifiable minority group and so used the Brown decision to prohibit segregation in public schools for Mexican Americans
Plyler v. Doe, 1982
Allowed for children of illegal immigrants to receive a public education in grade K-12