Facts
- New York required U.S. citizenship for permanent public-school teacher certification, with a limited exception for noncitizens who had manifested an intention to apply for citizenship.
- Susan Norwick and Tarja Dachinger were lawful resident aliens in New York, married to U.S. citizens, and otherwise qualified to teach.
- Both were eligible to naturalize but declined to apply for personal reasons.
- New York denied their permanent teacher certification solely because they were aliens who had not sought citizenship.
- They sued, alleging the certification rule violated the Equal Protection Clause by discriminating based on alienage.
Issues
- Whether a state may, consistent with the Equal Protection Clause, condition permanent public-school teacher certification on U.S. citizenship or a manifested intent to naturalize.
- Whether public-school teaching falls within the “governmental function” category allowing alienage-based exclusions to be reviewed under rational-basis scrutiny rather than strict scrutiny.
Decision
- The Supreme Court reversed the three-judge district court and upheld the New York statute (5–4).
- The Court held that public-school teaching is sufficiently connected to democratic self-government to fall within the “governmental function” exception for alienage classifications.
- Applying rational-basis review, the Court concluded New York could limit permanent certification to citizens and to resident aliens who intended to become citizens.
Legal Principles
- State alienage classifications are generally suspect and ordinarily trigger strict scrutiny.
- An exception applies to positions closely tied to democratic self-government (“governmental function”); for those positions, a citizenship requirement is evaluated under rational-basis review.
- Public-school teachers may be treated as performing a governmental function because their responsibility and discretion include shaping students’ views about government, the political process, and civic responsibilities.
- A state may rationally treat citizenship, or an intent to naturalize, as a legitimate qualification for public roles involving civic education and the formation of future citizens.
Conclusion
The Court held that New York could deny permanent public-school teacher certification to otherwise qualified resident aliens who were eligible for citizenship but chose not to seek it, because teaching in public schools falls within the governmental-function exception and the citizenship-or-intent requirement satisfies rational-basis review under the Equal Protection Clause.