Judge dismisses lawsuit against Snyder over Detroit kids' literacy

Ann Zaniewski | Detroit Free Press

A federal judge dismissed late Friday a headline-grabbing lawsuit that accused Gov. Rick Snyder and other state officials of depriving Detroit kids of their right to literacy.

In a 40-page opinion, Judge Stephen Murphy III wrote that the state is not obligated to provide a minimal level of education by which students can obtain the ability to learn how to read.

The plaintiffs in the 2016 case were students who attended some of the lowest-performing schools in Detroit while the city's school system was under the control of state-appointed emergency managers.

The children argued through their attorneys that literacy is a right under the U.S. Constitution. They said the state had denied them that through decades of "disinvestment" and "indifference," with their schools in such poor shape that they hadn't received even a minimally adequate education.

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"The conditions and outcomes of plaintiffs' schools, as alleged, are nothing short of devastating. When a child who could be taught to read goes untaught, the child suffers a lasting injury — and so does society," Murphy wrote in his opinion.

"But the Court is faced with a discrete question: Does the Due Process Clause demand that a State affirmatively provide each child with a defined, minimum level of education by which the child can attain literacy? Based on the foregoing analysis, the answer to the question is no."

The lawsuit documented the low reading and math proficiency rates of Detroit students, as well as classes without teachers and outdated or insufficient classroom materials. It noted poor conditions in school buildings, including vermin and other problems.

The students also argued they were denied access to literacy because of their race. Murphy said there was no evidence of that.

The defendants, in turn, said the state and its officials never operated the children's schools, that they were immune from being sued under the 11th Amendment and that access to literacy is not a constitutionally protected right.

Beginning in 2009, the Detroit Public Schools system was controlled by a series of emergency managers appointed first by then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm and then by Snyder. The district's financial problems grew worse. State intervention first began years earlier, in 1999.

In June 2016, lawmakers passed a sweeping $617-million legislative package that reformed Michigan largest school system, essentially splitting it into two entities. Today, children are educated in the locally-controlled Detroit Public Schools Community District.

Contact Ann Zaniewski: azaniewski@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AnnZaniewski.