The landmark Supreme Court case that decided the issue of school segregation in the United States is Brown v. Board of Education, decided in 1954. The Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This landmark decision declared that "separate but equal" educational facilities were inherently unequal, signaling an end to legal segregation in American public schools. Brown v. Board of Education served as a catalyst for the civil rights movement, inspiring further legal challenges against discrimination and segregation in various aspects of American life.