Which case overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine in public education?

• A. Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
• B. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
• C. Brown v. Board of Education II (1955)
• D. Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that the Court rejected the idea that segregation could be constitutional as long as facilities were “equal.” In public education, the key ruling was that separate schools for black and white students are inherently unequal and thus violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. That ruling overturned the long-standing justification from the earlier case that allowed segregation as long as there were equal facilities elsewhere.

This case did more than chip away at segregation; it directly struck down the legal basis for segregated public schooling. It didn’t merely address desegregation timing—that came later in a follow-up ruling about how quickly schools must desegregate—but it established that separate schooling cannot meet the constitutional standard in education.

The other options don’t fit this specific question. One case earlier established the “separate but equal” framework itself, but it did not overturn it in education. Another follow-up dealt with how desegregation should be carried out rather than overturning the doctrine. The last option concerns searches and seizures and is unrelated to education segregation.