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Federal Judge Rules Kids In Detroit Have No Fundamental Rights To Learn How To Read In Right
According to Detroit Free Press, in a 40-page opinion on Friday, U.S. District Judge Stephen Murphy III ruled against Detroit students who wanted to hold state officials accountable for thousands of children deprived of fundamental literacy skills. The ruling came in a federal lawsuit that was closely watched across the U.S. because of its potential impact: Filed on behalf of Detroit students, it sought to hold a dozen state officials — including Gov. Rick Snyder — accountable for what plaintiffs said were systemic failures that deprived Detroit children of their right to literacy.
“Plainly, literacy — and the opportunity to obtain it — is of incalculable importance,” Murphy wrote. “As plaintiffs point out, voting, participating meaningfully in civic life, and accessing justice require some measure of literacy.”
The judge acknowledged in his opinion that illiteracy is damaging to people and society. However, Murphy argued that impact of illiteracy does “not necessarily make access to literacy a fundamental right.”
According to the local news, last year, just 44 percent of the third-graders who took the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress passed the exam; the year before, it was 46 percent. In Detroit, far fewer students are proficient in reading. Yikes!
Who is going to be held accountable now? Maybe those parents needs to step in, step up or change cities…
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