DETROIT — Seven students, represented by the not-for-profit law firm Public Counsel, filed a lawsuit against Gov. Snyder, the State Board of Education and other school officials on Sept. 13. The lawsuit addresses the literacy deficiencies among school children, with a strong emphasis on Detroit’s schools.

The lawsuit was formed after Detroit students and teachers noted some students’ low proficiency in reading and math. Furthermore, there have been complaints that the school district lacks proper supplies and safe environments for learning, as the schools have seen a lack of trained teachers, leaking ceilings and campuses littered with “bullets, used condoms, sex toys and dead vermin around the playground equipment,” according to the lawsuit.

Jamarria Hall, a 16-year-old student at Osborn Evergreen, told the Detroit Free Press, “I believe we’re getting failed as a whole . . . If you put a 12th grade reading book in front of us, a lot of students probably wouldn’t be able to read it.”

As a means of addressing the core issues, the lawsuit reads that the state “monitors conditions that deny access to literacy.” It also pushes for a statewide accountability system, in which interventions will be made if the state is found to be denying access to literacy. 

The lawsuit has a focus on several of Detroit’s lowest-performing schools, including three public schools and two charter schools.

In particular, it cites the 14th Amendment of the Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1965 to argue its case for equal access to literacy as a right.

Despite the $617 million awarded to reform the Detroit Public Schools Community District in June, teachers and students have continued to express displeasure with low-quality school facilitates, outdated materials and little access to literacy and math education.

However, not everyone believes the lawsuit is a good idea. John Austin, president of the State Board of Education, notes the efforts that have already been made to increase funding for the school district. School districts and state boards do not ultimately determine how much a school district will be funded. 

In the end, “It’s the legislature that holds the purse strings and the governor who proposes budgets,” Austin told the Detroit Free Press.