The Court ruled that the Amish parents' fundamental right to free exercise of religion outweighed the state's interest in educating their children.

[3] Yoder differs from Sherbert v. Verner because the compulsory school attendance law was non-discriminatory and did not include a mechanism for individualized exemptions.

[8] Under Amish church standards, "higher" education (beyond the 8th grade) was deemed not only unnecessary for their simple way of life, but also endangering to their salvation.

They sincerely held to the belief that the values their children would learn at home would surpass the worldly knowledge taught in school.

[11] Justice Byron White, joined by Justices Brennan and Stewart, filed a concurring opinion saying the case "would be a very different case" if the parents forbade their children from "attending any school at any time and from complying in any way with the educational standards set by the State"; he pointed out that the burden on the children was relatively slight since they had acquired "the basic tools of literacy to survive in modern society" and had attended eight grades of school.

The child, therefore, should be given an opportunity to be heard before the State gives the exemption which we honor today.The ruling is cited as a basis for allowing people to be educated outside traditional private or public schools, such as with homeschooling.

In some communities Amish parents have continued to send their children to public elementary schools even after Wisconsin v. Yoder.

In most places tensions eased considerably after the Supreme Court ruling, although certain difficulties remained for those Amish living in Nebraska.