The decision of the United States Supreme Court in the case of Wisconsin v. Yoder was a significant statement for both public education and religious freedom. In terms of religious freedom, the requirement of the government to present a compelling reason to deny exercise of religious beliefs was reaffirmed. Meanwhile, public education continued to be presented as optional, provided that the objecting parents could present an adequate alternative for the education of their children. The case of Wisconsin v. Yoder began with the conviction of three Amish parents for refusing to send their children to public school after the eighth grade when Wisconsin law required attendance until the age of 16. The case underwent a series of appeals until it reached the United States Supreme Court in 1972. The state’s argument was based on an equal application of its role as parens patriae, which gives the government the right to act on behalf of children against abusive or neglectful parents. They argued that depriving the children of public education was …show more content…
The standard court procedure in religious freedom cases is to require the state to justify the violation through compelling government interest. The state was asked to prove that the difference in educational experiences between public school and the Amish option was sufficiently large to be harmful to the students, because otherwise the government would not have sufficient reason to restrict their religious practices. The majority decision, authored by Chief Justice Warren Burger, stated that the state does not meet this standard. Key to this decision was evidence that the Amish educational system was still effective in turning out individuals prepared to function in society from a vocational and social perspective, and the differing qualities brought to the fore in such a system were no less valued by society. (OpenJurist,