The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits states from depriving any person of life, liberty, and property without due process of law regular. It further states that no person within the jurisdiction of any state shall be denied equal protection of its laws. This amendment protects everyone. Chief Justice Clarence Thomas, in a 2002 decision, laid out the reasons why school choice should be protected under the 14th Amendment. Justice Thomas wrote in defense of school choice: “Whatever the textual and historical merits of incorporating the Establishment Clause, I can accept that the Fourteenth Amendment protects religious liberty rights. But I cannot accept its use to oppose neutral school choice programs through the incorporation of the Establishment Clause. There would be a tragic irony in transforming the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of individual liberty into a prohibition on the exercise of educational choice. Its ruling continues: “Defendants advocate using the Fourteenth Amendment to limit the state's ability to experiment with education. But without education, it is difficult to exercise the civil, political, and personal freedoms afforded by the Fourteenth Amendment. Faced with a serious educational crisis, the state of Ohio adopted a far-reaching educational reform that allows the voluntary participation of private and religious schools in the education of poor urban children otherwise doomed to failure. public schools. The program does not require any individual to undergo religious indoctrination or education. It simply gives parents greater choice in where and how they educate their children. This is a choice that those with more means have systematically exercised. The state has a constitutional right...... middle of paper ......her, L., Schimmel, D., & Stellman, L. (2007). Teachers and the law. 7th ed. Boston: Pearson Education. P186-187. Kintisch, B., Zelno, S. (2002). Purchase vouchers (SB 1) and the law. Available: www.elc-pa.org. Last accessed March 16, 2011. Smith, G. (2010). Education vouchers are gaining ground. Available: http://www.thestate.com/2010/11/21/1570848/school-choice-gains-ground.html. Last accessed March 16, 2011. Speel, R. (2011). Education vouchers would violate the Constitution. Available: http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2011/02/education_vouchers_would_viola.html. Center for Education Reform. (2011). State-by-state choice options. Available: http://www.edreform.com/printer_FVersion.cfm. Last accessed March 16, 2011.WestEd. (1999). What we know about the good guys confirms the facts behind the rhetoric. Available: http://www.WestEd.org. Last seen on March 16 2011.