Students in Detroit Are Suing the State Because They Weren’t Taught to Read

www.theatlantic.com ^ | 07/06/2018 | Alia Wong

[Red Badger]

A federal judge has concluded that the Constitution doesn't require schools to promote students’ literacy.

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What to do when a school is infested with vermin, when textbooks are outdated, when students can’t even read? Perhaps the answer is sue the government.

That’s what seven students in Detroit have done. Their class-action suit filed against the state of Michigan asserts that education is a basic right, and that they have been denied it.

Usually, such education-equity cases wend their way through state courts, as all 50 state constitutions mandate public-education systems, while the country’s guiding document doesn’t even include the word education. But this case, Gary B. v. Snyder, was filed in federal court, and thus seeks to invoke the Constitution. And as of this week, it’s headed to the federal appeals court in Cincinnati.

The lawyers filing the suit—from the pro bono Los Angeles firm Public Counsel—contend that the students (who attend five of Detroit’s lowest-performing schools) are receiving an education so inferior and underfunded that it’s as if they’re not attending school at all. The 100-page-plus complaint alleges that the state of Michigan (which has overseen Detroit’s public schools for nearly two decades) is depriving these children—97 percent of whom are students of color—of their constitutional rights to liberty and nondiscrimination by denying them access to basic literacy. Almost all the students at these schools perform well below grade level in reading and writing, and, the suit argues, those skills are necessary to function properly in society. It’s the first case to argue that the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to become literate (and thus to be educated) because other rights in the Constitution necessarily require the ability to read.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“Shouldn’t that be “shut the doah” ...? “
No! “Slut’s at the doah.”

[M Kehoe]

Can they sue their parents too.

5.56mm

[Marchmain]

No LGBTQ, trannies or feminism.

[Brilliant]

Yes. I was talking about the US constitution. Of course every state has laws requiring the state to provide education.

[mdmathis6]

But they are being educated via “Common Core” methods developed by Democratic liberals./sarcasm

[PeterPrinciple]

Police are not there to protect us according to the courts and schools are not there to teach.

[mdmathis6]

But they are being educated via “Common Core” methods developed by Democratic liberals./sarcasm

[vette6387]

Some vermin have four legs, others have just two. I just imagine Detroit Pubic Schools have an abundance of both.

[vette6387]

“The lawyers filing the suit—from the pro bono Los Angeles firm Public Counsel”

Good choice for counsel. They should have ample first-hand knowledge of “vermin,” but theirs are the “Mexican four-legged Cucaraccha (nee cockroach) variety.”

[vette6387]

Like Chris Rock “opined” some years ago, if you want to protect your money, put it in a book, because books are Kryptonite to Blacks! Actually, he used another descriptor, but you get the idea.

[vette6387]

So, the truth of the matter is that they need lawyers who understand RICO Law, not the Constitution.

[JoeFromSidney]

Back in the 1940s I'd spend a week every summer at Scout camp. One year there was a Black troop in camp the week my troop was there. I became friends with one of the black scouts. He was literate and well read. His fellow troop members mocked him, and nicknamed him "Dictionary," because he used words they weren't familiar with. An example of what I learned later is part of Black Culture: drag down anyone who tries to rise above it. I have no idea of what eventually became of him. I hope he succeeded in climbing out of that culture. Letting his fellow Blacks destroy him would have been tragic.

[vette6387]

“If I were the judge in this case, my first question to each of the cretins suing is “how many books are in your home”?”

Second question: Are your parents actually married?
Third Question: Do your “siblings” have the same father and mother?
Fourth Question: Can the adults in your “household” read anything other than the fine print on their EBT Cards?
Fifth Question: Does “Uncle Remus” come by and spend the night with your mother?

[gigster]

I got a grat edukashun in detriot skuls.

[Popman]

Thank you for saying that....

[arrogantsob]

How many people are aware of this? Anything about Detroit is a joke.

[gspurlock]

Everyone should know the Constitution to comprehend what it covers and what it does not. It is a very carefully crafted document to limit the federal government, leaving most responsibilities to the States and the People. That is why it is so successful.

If you want to see a nightmare, read the Mexican Constitution. It is the complete law of the land. Every new law requires a change to their Constitution and it’s a totally socialist document. The original is so detailed it requires that employers not only pay a fair wage, but ensure that employees have living quarters and food. Like they actually do that? If they did, we would be invading Mexico.

That is the genius of the Constitution, not a weakness.

I recommend you read it. It’s only 4 pages. I’ve taken several courses on the Constitution and participated in several workshops.

That supplemental education has been very enlightening. You would not be asking that question if you were familiar with the Constitution. Please avail yourself.

[logi_cal869]

Aware of what?

[Bommer]

You taught your little girl because you knew how to read and right. These kids have parent that were taught from the same schools that are letting their kids down. Honestly can’t feel sorry for a group of people stuck on stupid, that keep voting for the same failed idiots who are champions of education. Personally, the inner cities are too Ferel to be saved.

[a little elbow grease]

I appreciate that you saw that.

LOVE