Appeals Court Decision Guarantees Basic Literacy as a Federal Fundamental Right for Detroit’s Children
In a court decision last week in a case brought by students in Detroit, Gary B. v Whitmer, a three judge U.S. Court of Appeals panel recognized that a basic level of education is a federal right under the “due process” clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The appeals court overturned a lower court decision which had dismissed the case.
Derek Black, a professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law explains the significance of this decision: “The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Gary B. v Whitmer, just delivered the holy grail of education advocacy: a federal fundamental right to education. The court narrowly defined the right as a ‘basic minimum education,’ but most rights revolutions begin somewhere small.” Black cautions, however, that the case will likely be appealed to the full Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and to the U.S. Supreme Court as well. Prospects for its survival in these higher courts are small.
Why does this case matter so much? Black explains: “The last 50 years of negative Supreme Court precedent reveals just how momentous Gary B. really is. In the early 1970s, three highly controversial Supreme Court decisions effectively locked in educational inequality. First, the court held that the U.S. Constitution only prohibits school segregation resulting from the intentional discriminatory acts of public officials. Private segregation is beyond the court’s reach. (Keyes v School District Number 1, Denver) Second, courts cannot order metropolitan-wide integration in the absence of something approaching segregative collusion between school districts. (Millikin v. Bradley) Third, education is not a federal fundamental right. That means funding inequalities between poor and rich districts are constitutionally irrelevant. (San Antonio v. Rodriguez)… These outcomes sparked litigation in state courts. Advocates argued that the education clauses in state constitutions obligate states to provide equal and adequate education, winning numerous important victories. But many state legislatures also fought tooth and nail to delay, minimize, and avoid meaningful remedies….”
In last week’s majority Detroit decision, Appellate Judge Eric Clay declares that, “Every meaningful interaction between a citizen and the state is predicated on a minimum level of literacy, meaning that access to literacy is necessary to access our political process.” Clay CONTINUE READING: Appeals Court Decision Guarantees Basic Literacy as a Federal Fundamental Right for Detroit’s Children | janresseger
