Wisconsin v. Yoder
Wisconsin v. Jonas Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972), is the case in which the United States Supreme Court found that Amish children could not be placed under compulsory education past 8th grade. The parents' fundamental right to freedom of religion was determined to outweigh the state's interest in educating their children. The case is often cited as a basis for parents' right to educate their children outside of traditional private or public schools. Background of the case. Three Amish students from three different families stopped attending the New Glarus High School in the New Glarus, Wisconsin , school district at the end of the eighth grade because of their parent's religious beliefs. The three families were represented by Jonas Yoder (one of the fathers involved in the case) when the case went to trial. They were convicted in the Green County Court. Each defendant was fined the nominal sum of $5. Thereafter the Wisconsin Supreme Court found in Yoder's favor. Thereupon, Wisconsin appealed that ruling in the US Supreme Court. The Amish did not believe in going to court to settle disputes but instead follow the biblical command to "turn the other cheek." Thus , the Amish are at a disadvantage when it comes to defending themselves in courts or before legislative committees. However, a Lutheran minister, Reverend William C. Lindholm, took an interest in Amish legal difficulties from a religious freedom perspective and founded The National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom (partly as a result of this case) and then provided them with legal counsel. Under Amish church standards, higher education was deemed not only unnecessary for their simple way of life, but also endangering to their salvation. These men appealed for exemption from compulsory education on the basis of these religious convictions. They  sincerely held to the belief that the values their children would learn at home would surpass the worldly knowledge taught in school. Court's decision. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of "Yoder" in its decision. Justice William O. Douglas filed a partial dissent, but voted with the court regarding Yoder's case. Justices Lewis F. Powell, Jr. and William H. Rehnquist took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. The Wisconsin Supreme Court "sustained respondents' claim that application of the compulsory school-attendance law to them violated their rights under the Free Exercise Clause of  the First Amendment, made applicable to the States by the Fourteenth Amendment." The U.S. Supreme Court held as follows: Justice Potter Stewart, joined by Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., filed a concurring opinion stating that the 'interesting and important' questions raised by Justice Douglas' dissent were moot since the Amish children shared their parents' religious objections to the school attendance. Justice Byron White, joined by Justices Brennan and Stewart, filed a concurring opinion saying the case 'would be a very different case' if the parents forbade their children from 'attending any school at any time and from complying in any  way with the educational standards set by the State'; he pointed out that the burden on the children was relatively slight since they had acquired 'the basic tools of literacy to survive in modern society' and had attended eight grades of school. Dissenting opinion. Justice William O. Douglas, who dissented in part, wrote: Legacy of the Court's decision. The ruling is cited as a basis for allowing people to be educated outside traditional private or public schools, such as with homeschooling. The implications of the case for the Amish were characterized by one author as: Since "Wisconsin v. Yoder ," all states must grant the Old Order Amish the right to establish their own schools (should they choose) or to withdraw from public institutions after completing eighth grade. In some communities Amish parents have continued to send their children to public elementary schools even after "Wisconsin v. Yoder". In most places tensions eased considerably after the Supreme Court ruling, although certain difficulties remained for those Amish living in Nebraska.