14th AmendmentDefining Equal Protection in a

Democratic Society

1. Does treating people equally mean treating them the same? 2. What would it mean to treat people equally in the following

situations? a. A man and a woman apply for a job as a shoe sales person.

What would the employer have to do to treat these two applicants equally?

b. Two patients come to a doctor with a headache. The doctor determines that one patient has a brain tumor and the other patient has a run-of-the mill headache. What would the doctor have to do to treat these two patients equally?

c. Two students try to enter a school that has stairs leading to the entrance. One student is handicapped and the other is not. What would the school have to do to treat these two students equally?

d. Two students live in the same school district. The students are the same age, but they are different races. What does the school district have to do to treat these two students equally?

Warm Up

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. ….

nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

The 14th Amendment

De facto segregation –segregation by law

De jure segregation –segregation by custom

Are either of these equal protection?

Plessey v. Ferguson, 1896

“Separate but equal”

50 years of de jure segregation

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS

Original intent of the 14th amendment was integration

Two Interpretations of Equal Protection

Take a few minutes to discuss with a partner:

1. Why would parents want to send their children to a neighborhood school? An integrated school?

2. Which type of school would you prefer to attend? 3. Is a neighborhood school necessarily segregated?

Equal Protection after Brown v. Board

U.S. Supreme Court

◦ Swann family & other parents sued CMS for not effectively integrating public schools

◦ Even w/Brown decision, blacks confined to poor neighborhood schools

◦ Black students were bussed to wealthier white schools, whites were not integrated into predominantly black schools

◦ Court ruled that when de jure segregation exists, both black and white students need to be bussed

Education after Brown

Swann v. CMS, 1971

NC Supreme Court Leandro v. State, 1994 Leandro other plaintiffs sued the state of NC for not

helping poor counties with enough funding to provide an equal education

Court ruled that people have the right to a “sound basic education,” not one of equal monetary value

It is up to the counties to collect revenue to support schools & make the necessary expenditures for education

Education in NC after Swann

Determine how the 14th Amendment limits those who govern

Determine how the 14th Amendment limits those who are governed

Determine what equal protections are guaranteed by the Amendment

Essential Questions to answer

1. What is the Equal Protection Clause? 2. How has the Equal Protection Clause’s

interpretation been changed over the years through the different court cases?

Exit Ticket