Final answer:
The equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applies to public schools and other public institutions, prohibiting racial segregation and ensuring equality for all, following the 1954 Supreme Court landmark decision.
Step-by-step explanation:
After the 1954 Supreme Court decision, the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was affirmed to apply to public schools and other public institutions. This landmark ruling, particularly in Brown v. Board of Education, declared that racial segregation in public schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court's decision made clear that separate facilities are inherently unequal and that the equal protection clause prohibits states from maintaining segregated public schools. It also had implications for other types of public institutions, signifying that segregation based on race was unconstitutional across the board, thus broadening the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment to include protection against discrimination for all people, regardless of race, color, or previously held 'two-class' limitations.