No Undocumented Child Left Behind

The 1982 U. S. Supreme Court case of Plyler v. Doe, which made it possible for undocumented children to enroll in Texas public schools, was a watershed moment for immigrant rights in the United States. The Court struck down both a state statute denying funding for education to undocumented children and a municipal school district's attempt to charge an annual $1,000 tuition fee for each undocumented student to compensate for the lost state funding. Yet while this case has not returned to the Supreme Court, it is frequently contested at the state and local level.




In No Undocumented Child Left Behind, Michael A. Olivas tells a fascinating history of the landmark case, examining how, 30 years later, Plyler v. Doe continues to suffer from implementation issues and requires additional litigation and vigilance to enforce the ruling. He takes a comprehensive look at the legal regime it established regarding the education of undocumented school children, moves up through its implementation, including direct and indirect attacks on it, and closes with the ongoing, highly charged debates over the Development, Relief, and Education for Minors (DREAM) Act, which aims to give conditional citizenship to undocumented college students who graduated from US high schools and have been in the country for at least five years.





Listen to Michael Olivas on WYPF 88.1 FM, as he takes a look back 30 years to the Supreme Court case that made it possible for undocumented children to enroll in public schools and the highly-charged political and legal battles that have ensued.

The late Michael A. Olivas was William B. Bates Distinguished Chair in Law at the University of Houston Law Center and Director of the Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance at UH. His books include Colored Men And Hombres Aquí: Hernandez v. Texas and the Emergence of Mexican American Lawyering; The Law And Higher Education: Cases And Materials on Colleges in Court Third Edition; and Education Law Stories (with Ronna Greff Schneider).The late Michael A. Olivas was William B. Bates Distinguished Chair in Law at the University of Houston Law Center and Director of the Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance at UH. His books include Colored Men And Hombres Aquí: Hernandez v. Texas and the Emergence of Mexican American Lawyering; The Law And Higher Education: Cases And Materials on Colleges in Court Third Edition; and Education Law Stories (with Ronna Greff Schneider).

Highly readable, relevant, and well documented.

Peter Schuck,co-editor of Understanding America: The Anatomy of an Exceptional Nation:
Michael Olivas is a passionate storyteller who knows the saga of Plyler v. Doe first-hand and skillfully recounts an important chapter in the history of immigration law and the Constitution

Victor C. Romero,author of Alienated: Immigrant Rights, the Constitution, and Equality in America:
Provocative and wise, Michael Olivass important book challenges all of us to carefully consider how our nations core values are reflected both in the way we educate immigrant children and treat noncitizens in our midst. Authored by one of the nations foremost experts on immigrant education, this definitive study will be the starting point for any informed inquiry into contemporary debates on education and immigration.It will, as well, provide many an insight into the complicated politics that surround immigration policy in our federalist system.

Jon Reyhner:
University of Houston law professor Michael A. Oliva's brief book on the 1982 Supreme Court case decision, Plyer v. Doe, which ruled a Texas provision that allowed school districts to charge tuition to undocumented schoolchildren was unconstitutional, is a fascinating legal analysis of the effect of the decision and how it has withstood legal challenges in the thirty years since the high court handed down the decision.

Nancy Almand:
Highly readable, relevant, and well documented.

Luis F.B. Plascencia:
No Undocumented Child Left Behind is without doubt a valuable book. The book makes an important stride... a well-written, crisp narrative about a past Supreme Court case that remains in effect in the present.

Olivas makes a technical legal argument with an appeal to both compassion and common sense.

Prominent legal scholar Michael Olivas provides...informed and insightful commentary on the complex nature of immigration, education, and the collision of these two highly charged issues.