Over the years, the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution has had an enormous impact on protecting individual rights in public elementary and secondary education. This has occurred through the United States Supreme Courts interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the incorporation of other rights (like freedom of speech) to the states through the 14th Amendment.
Equal Protection Clause
The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment provides that a state may not deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. It applies to public elementary and secondary schools, as they are considered to be state actors. In 1954, the Supreme Court interpreted the Equal Protection Clauses requirements in Brown v. Board of Education. In perhaps one of the most famous and important cases issued by the Court, it stated:
We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs
are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
https://www.concordlawschool.edu/blog/constitutional-law/14th-amendment-protects-rights-education/