Question

In 1922 the state of Oregon passed a law that required all children age 8 to 16 to attend public school. In Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925), the U.S. Supreme Court declared this Oregon law void. On what did the Supreme Court base their decision?

Answer 1

They believed that it was unlawful to force children to attend public schooling when their parents might not want it, and saw it as an infringement of rights. Furthermore, many children were home schooled at the time, though this trend was declining, so public school wasn't seen as so much of a necessity.