In 2018 the ACLU of Michigan filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals supporting a group of students in Detroit who sued the state over its lack of support for literacy in the public schools. Several years ago, we were unsuccessful in seeking a ruling in state court that the Michigan Constitution guarantees a right to an adequate public education, including the right to read. This case seeks a similar ruling, except in federal court and under the United States Constitution.
In April 2020 the Sixth Circuit issued a stunning ruling recognizing a fundamental right to literacy under the United States Constitution. Unfortunately the full Sixth Circuit then voted to rehear the case and vacated the opinion. The case eventually settled.
(Gary B. v. Snyder; ACLU Attorney Dan Korobkin; Cooperating Attorney Peter Hammer of Wayne State Law School.)
