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Funding cuts. Raids near campuses. Exclusion from programs like Head Start and career training. For months, the Trump administration has been chipping away at the rights of students without legal status in public schools.

Could the administration take away those students鈥� right to free public school entirely? Experts say that may be the next step.

鈥淧eople have worried about this for a couple decades, but this is different,鈥� said Patricia G谩ndara, education professor and co-director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA. 鈥淩ight now we have to be extremely vigilant. These people will stop at nothing.鈥�

A 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, , guarantees all students, regardless of immigration status, the right to a free public education in K-12 schools. But last year the conservative Heritage Foundation to overturn the ruling and for states to charge tuition to immigrant families, even if their children are U.S. citizens. The rationale is that schools spend billions of dollars educating those students 鈥� money that instead should be spent on students who, along with their parents, are native-born U.S. citizens.

Project 2025, also published by the Heritage Foundation, .

Such a policy would have an outsized impact in California, where nearly half of the state鈥檚 children have at least one immigrant parent, according to the .

鈥淭his would have tremendous negative impacts,鈥� said Megan Hopkins, chair of the education department at UC San Diego. 鈥淔or starters, we鈥檇 have a less educated, less literate populace, which would affect the economy and nearly every other aspect of life in California.鈥�

Tuition for noncitizens

Plyler v. Doe stemmed from a case in Texas in the early 1980s. The state had passed a law allowing schools to charge tuition to students who weren鈥檛 citizens. The Tyler Independent School District in Tyler, Texas, a small city about 100 miles southeast of Dallas, was among the districts that tried, triggering a lawsuit that eventually brought the case to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, arguing that children who aren鈥檛 citizens are entitled to equal protection under the law. Still, the ruling was close 鈥� 5 to 4 鈥� even though the court was more liberal than it is today.

Since then, the ruling has been mostly forgotten. But there have been occasional attempts to restrict immigrants in schools, in California and elsewhere. In 1994 California , which banned immigrants living illegally in the U.S. from receiving public benefits, including access to public schools. A federal court blocked it before it went into effect.

In 2011, Alabama passed a law requiring schools to collect students鈥� immigration status. That law was later blocked by a federal court. In 2022, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and that states should not have to pay to educate students without legal status.

Since the Heritage Foundation published its report, about a half-dozen states have attempted to pass laws that would allow schools to charge tuition to noncitizens. None passed last year, but advocates said they plan to keep trying.

Route to Supreme Court

They鈥檙e likely to have a sympathetic supporter in President Donald Trump, who鈥檚 so far followed many of the policies put forward by Project 2025. In the past few months, his administration has amped up immigration arrests and said it would no longer honor schools as safe havens from enforcement. It also cut (although later reinstated after states sued) funding for migrant students and barred students without legal status from Head Start, adult education and career and technical education.

The issue could land before the Supreme Court in at least two ways. A state could pass a law allowing public schools to charge tuition, leading to a lawsuit which could end up before the Supreme Court. Or Trump could issue an executive order that could also trigger a lawsuit.

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley Law School, said some of Trump鈥檚 actions, such as barring children without legal status from Head Start, is already a violation of Plyler.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no doubt that the Trump administration has increased pressure on Plyler,鈥� Chemerinsky said. 鈥淐ertainly, what Trump is doing could lead to cases that would get to the Supreme Court. Could this court overturn Plyler? Of course they could. 鈥� all it would take is five justices wanting to overrule it.鈥�

Even if it鈥檚 not overturned, the current policy shifts have had a chilling effect on schools and immigrant families, said Hopkins, at UC San Diego. in communities experiencing immigration crackdowns, which has caused academic repercussions for some students and widened the achievement gap between Latino students and other groups. A recent report by Policy Analysis for California Education found that Latino students and English learners fared worse in math and English in the wake of immigration arrests in their communities, and reported a significant increase in bullying at school.

Hopkins also said the policies aren鈥檛 especially effective. If the goal is to encourage immigrants to return to their home countries voluntarily, research has shown that doesn鈥檛 often happen. After Alabama passed its anti-immigrant law in 2011, many families simply moved to Mississippi.

鈥極ur biggest fear鈥�

In Monterey County, the new policies have led to widespread fear and confusion among immigrant families, said Monterey County Office of Education Superintendent Deneen Guss. Attendance has dropped not only in schools, but at community events as well.

To support families, schools have been hosting 鈥淜now Your Rights鈥� information nights (in-person and virtually), encouraged parents to submit child care plans to schools in case a parent is arrested, given out booklets in Spanish on how to help children experiencing anxiety, and provided .

But when the Trump administration announced it was barring students without legal status from Head Start, 鈥渢hat gave me pause,鈥� Guss said. 鈥淭hat made me think they really were going after Plyler. That鈥檚 our biggest fear.鈥�

She worries about the impact that would have on families, as well as school staff who would suddenly be responsible for checking students鈥� citizenship paperwork. Currently, schools don鈥檛 ask for students鈥� immigration status.

鈥淓ducators鈥� jobs are hard enough,鈥� Guss said. 鈥淥ur job is to give children the best possible education. Don鈥檛 make us become immigration officers. It鈥檚 a position we do not want.鈥�

She鈥檚 been urging parents, and the public, to stay informed and speak out. Regardless of whether the Supreme Court overturns Plyler, anti-immigrant policies are almost certain to continue, with devastating consequences for students.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 sit back and pretend everything is going to be OK,鈥� Guss said. 鈥淧eople need to ensure their voices are heard. And we have to fight for our kids.鈥�

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