Wisconsin v. Yoder

The Court held that Amish families cannot be compelled to send their children to high school past the eighth grade.

Overview

Wisconsin convicted Amish parents of violating compulsory school attendance to age sixteen. Chief Justice Burger, writing for the Court with Justice Douglas dissenting in part, held that requiring two additional years conflicted with sincere religious beliefs and the Amish way of life, which itself prepared children for productive community membership. The state's interest in universal education could not override the free exercise claim. Yoder established that sincere religious practice receives substantial constitutional weight against neutral laws, a standard later qualified in Smith, though Yoder remains central to religious liberty doctrine.