Is learning to read a constitutional right?
A federal court recently ruled that underfunded schools in Detroit violated students' rights to a basic education.
Advocates hope the case is the beginning of a trend.
April 30, 2020
by Christopher Peak and Emily Hanford
https://www.apmreports.org/story/2020/0 ... onal-right
In a 2-1 decision last week, judges from the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that students have a right to "a basic minimum education," which the court defined as giving students the opportunity to learn to read.
The ruling doesn't address the vast inequities between rich schools and poor schools, but it does set a minimum standard that states must meet in public education: providing kids with "a chance at foundational literacy."
It's the first time that a federal court has asserted that right. Advocates say the ruling could match Brown v. Board of Education in importance and hope it triggers a broader crusade against unequal education.