The Sixth Circuit recently held that a lawsuit brought by students at several of Detroit’s worst performing public schools claiming that poor conditions within their classrooms have deprived them of a basic minimum education, meaning one that provides a chance at foundational literacy, may continue.

The Sixth Circuit specifically addressed an issue the U.S. Supreme Court has avoided: whether the Constitution provides a fundamental right to a basic minimum education. In examining the Supreme Court’s reasoning in other cases and applying the Supreme Court’s due process framework, the Sixth Circuit held “[a]ccess to a foundational level of literacy—provided through public education—has an extensive historical legacy and is so central to our political and social system as to be ‘implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.’” The Court went on to hold that “without the literacy provided by a basic minimum education, it is impossible to participate in our democracy.” The Court accordingly held that students have a fundamental right to a basic minimum education, meaning one that can provide them with a foundational level of literacy.

This decision reversed the District Court’s dismissal of the students’ claims and remanded the case for further proceedings.

Click here to access the decision.