WASHINGTON, D.C. – As some states reconsider policies affecting access to public education, a new report from FWD.us examines the far-reaching consequences of the Supreme Court’s 1982 decision in Plyler v. Doe, which guarantees equal access to K–12 public education regardless of immigration status.
According to the report, the ruling has generated hundreds of billions of dollars in economic growth, expanded the U.S. workforce and reduced public health costs over the past four decades. The decision struck down a Texas law that barred undocumented children from attending public school.
The report, titled The Power of Plyler, details the societal, fiscal and public health effects of the ruling more than 40 years after the Court’s decision. According to FWD.us, the findings show that access to public education for all children has produced “some of the most successful and consequential outcomes in modern American history.”
Several lawmakers have considered legislation that would undermine or directly challenge Plyler’s protections. As detailed in the report, The Power of Plyler was published to demonstrate what is at stake for students, schools and communities if equal access to education were restricted.
FWD.us reports that since the ruling in 1982, more than 4.8 million undocumented children have benefited from equal access to public education. Nationally, the report finds that these protections have generated more than $633 billion in net state and local fiscal gains after accounting for education costs, according to the organization.
Additionally, beneficiaries of Plyler increased U.S. gross domestic product by $171 billion between 1982 and 2022, with projected lifetime GDP contributions expected to total $2.71 trillion, according to FWD.us. The decision also strengthened the labor force by enabling more than 350,000 people to work in jobs typically requiring some college education, and another 1.3 million to work in occupations requiring high school degrees.
The report states that public health outcomes also improved as a result of the ruling. Equal access to education helped prevent 730,000 U.S. citizen children from falling into poverty and averted at least $28.9 billion in health-related costs by reducing rates of disability, depression, infant mortality and obesity.
FWD.us President Todd Schulte emphasized the ruling’s long-term impact, stating, “Access to K–12 education for all kids in America is not only clear in the law, but it is clearly a massive boon for our entire country.”
The report also includes data showing both the gains under Plyler and the projected losses if the ruling were overturned. According to FWD.us, states with growing newcomer and English learner populations would experience some of the most significant impacts.
If Plyler v. Doe were reversed, the report projects that the United States would lose more than $1 trillion in lifetime income from currently enrolled undocumented students and more than 450,000 future workers in occupations requiring a high school or college education. Sectors such as education, health care and technology would be directly affected.
In a statement from Phillip Connor, a research fellow at Princeton University and a co-author of the report, he said the evidence shows education access is central to long-term outcomes.
“Reversing Plyler would undermine everything we know about what helps students succeed,” Connor said.
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