Which ruling declared that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning the 'separate but equal' doctrine in education?

• A. Plessy v. Ferguson
• B. Brown v. Board of Education
• C. Dred Scott v. Sanford
• D. Roe v. Wade

Answer: (B)

In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court held that state laws establishing separate public schools for Black and White students violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because separate facilities are inherently unequal. This decision rejected the long-standing "separate but equal" justification that Plessy v. Ferguson had allowed for education, marking a turning point in desegregation. The other cases are about different issues—Dred Scott v. Sanford dealt with citizenship and slavery, Roe v. Wade concerns abortion—so Brown v. Board of Education is the one that directly overturns the segregation framework in public schools.