Which of the following best describes how the Supreme Court voted in Brown v. Board of Education? The court voted to end public school segregation. The court voted to hold a national debate on public school segregation. The court voted to leave public school segregation up to individual states. The court voted to maintain public school segregation.

The correct answer is The court voted to end public school segregation.

Due to the Supreme Court case Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896), the United States had maintained "separate but equal" facilities for African-American and white citizens. However, these separate facilities were consistently unequal, as white citizens had access to better schools and other public facilities.

This changed with the Brown vs. Board of Education case. One of the main lawyers for Brown, Thurgood Marshall, argued that this doctrine of "separate but equal" violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. After hearing both sides of the argument, the Supreme Court justices voted unanimously on the side of Brown. The justices felt that "separate but equal" facilities did violate the 14th amendment and ruled that segregated schools were illegal.