AMISH EXCEPTION

Amish exception.An exemption of the Amish from compulsory-school-attendance laws under

the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. • In Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 92 S.Ct.

1526 (1972), the Supreme Court held that Amish children could not be compelled to attend high

school even though they were within the age range of the state’s compulsory-attendance law. The

Court has very narrowly construed the Amish exception and has refused to extend it to non-Amish

children. See COMPULSORY-ATTENDANCE LAW; FREE EXERCISE CLAUSE. [Blacks Law 8th]