The child is not a mere creature of the State

Parental rights are not something the government gives, and any free society should never permit it to be so.

This week, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the landmark decision Pierce v. Society of Sisters . In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that “the child is not the mere creature of the State.”

The ruling was monumental because it affirmed parents’ rights to direct their own child’s education, protected private and religious schools, and led to the movement of education choice that is helping so many children today.

In 1922, Oregon passed a law requiring students to attend public schools and only public schools. In other words, private or religious schooling was outlawed.

The law was supported by anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic views, eerily simil