Judge Says There's No Right To Learn To Read And Write

MICHIGAN — A new ruling by a federal judge has left some people disheartened and with concerns regarding children’s educations and futures. According to the judge looking at the Detroit-centered case, children have no fundamental right to learn to read or right.

The lawsuit was closely followed across the country and was 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,” the Detroit Free Press reported.

The lawsuit sought fixes that included literacy reforms, a systemic approach to instruction and intervention, as well as fixes to crumbling Detroit schools, they reported.

The lawsuit was filed by Public Counsel, a Los Angeles-based law firm that is the nation's largest public interest law firm. The City of Detroit, the American Federation of Teachers, the AFL-CIO, the community group 482Forward, Kappa Delta Pi, the International Literacy Association and the National Association for Multicultural Education all filed briefs in support of the plaintiffs.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Murphy III, in his ruling Friday, noted the importance of literacy.

"Plainly, literacy — and the opportunity to obtain it — is of incalculable importance," Murphy wrote in a 40-page opinion. "As plaintiffs point out, voting, participating meaningfully in civic life, and accessing justice require some measure of literacy,” The Free Press reported.

But those points, Murphy said, "do not necessarily make access to literacy a fundamental right." And, he said, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized that the importance of a good or service "does not determine whether it must be regarded as fundamental."

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