WASHINGTON, D.C. — FWD.us released The Power of Plyler, a groundbreaking new report showing that the Constitution’s guarantee of equal access to K–12 public education for all children, regardless of immigration status, has grown America’s economy by hundreds of billions of dollars, expanded the U.S. workforce by hundreds of thousands of individuals working in jobs typically requiring a college education, and saved billions in public health costs during the more than 40 years since the Supreme Court’s decision. The report also finds that reversing Plyler v. Doe would trigger widespread economic losses, workforce disruptions, and severe increases in health-related costs.

Access to K-12 education for all kids in America is not only clear in the law, but it is clearly a massive boon for our entire country. The report comes at a time when legislatures in several states have considered bills that would represent direct attacks on Plyler's promise of equal access to K-12 education for all children. The Power of Plyler offers urgently needed data showing what is at stake for students, schools, and communities nationwide.

“Our analysis makes unmistakably clear that Plyler v. Doe’s guarantee of equal access to education has generated some of the most successful and consequential outcomes in modern American history. It has strengthened classrooms, fueled economic growth, improved public health, and ensured that millions of children can contribute to the only country they know as home. Access to K-12 education for all kids in America is not only clear in the law, but it is clearly a massive boon for our entire country,” said FWD.us President Todd Schulte.

Since equal access to K-12 education regardless of immigration status was affirmed in Plyler in 1982, more than 4.8 million undocumented children have benefited from equal access to public education. According to the report’s national findings, these protections have:

• Generated over $633 billion in net state and local fiscal gains—after accounting for educational costs;
• Increased beneficiaries’ incomes, as well as U.S. GDP, by $171 billion between 1982 and 2022, with lifetime GDP contributions expected to total $2.71 trillion;
• Strengthened the U.S. labor force, enabling more than 350,000 people to work in  jobs typically requiring some college education and another 1.3 million in high school–required occupations;
• Prevented 730,000 U.S. citizen children from falling into poverty; and
• Improved nationwide public health outcomes, averting at least $28.9 billion in associated health costs, including reductions in disability, depression, infant mortality, and obesity.

“Equal access to education is one of the most powerful tools we have for shaping children’s futures. Our research shows that Plyler has dramatically expanded opportunity, improved life outcomes, and strengthened our schools and the fabric of our communities. This is not an abstract legal principle. It’s a decades-long success story playing out in classrooms nationwide,” said Scott D. Levy, co-author of ‘The Power of Plyler’. 

The report also includes state-specific data that highlights both gains under Plyler and projected losses if the ruling were reversed, showing large impacts in states with growing newcomer and English learner populations, such as Texas, Florida, and California. Key takeaways if Plyler were reversed include:

• The U.S. would lose more than $1 trillion through the lifetime income of currently enrolled, undocumented school-aged children.
• The nation would lose over 450,000 future workers in occupations that require a high school diploma, including 341,000 in college-required occupations, directly affecting key sectors such as teaching, healthcare, and technology.
• Increased infant mortality, disability, depression, and chronic illness would drive $24.2 billion in additional health costs, mostly to state and local governments.
• School systems would face major enrollment shifts, funding instability, and heightened educational disparities, reversing decades of progress in educational attainment and student support.

“Education is the foundation for long-term economic and health outcomes. The evidence is clear: when children can attend school, graduate, and pursue higher education opportunities, they contribute significantly more to their communities and live healthier, more stable lives. Reversing Plyler would undermine everything we know about what helps students succeed,” said Phillip Connor, Research Fellow at Princeton University and co-author of ‘The Power of Plyler.’  

Read the full report HERE.