California Dreamin’ – Not for the State’s Young Learners Caught in a Nightmare Scenario

 

 

In 2017, an interesting case was filed by a pro bono law firm on behalf of students, parents and advocacy groups against the State of California. It opened as follows:

 

1. The California Constitution guarantees every child a basic education. Five years ago, the State of California correctly recognized a “critical need to address the literacy development of California children.”It further recognized that this need is particularly dire in California’s underserved populations, specifically English learners, students with disabilities, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and African American and Hispanic students. The State drafted a plan that proposed remedies similar to those that have effectively addressed literacy issues in other states. The State acknowledged a“sense of urgency in implementing a state literacy plan.”

 

2. Yet the State has not implemented its own plan or otherwise taken sufficient steps to ensure that a literacy education is available to all children. As a result, the State continues to allow children from disadvantaged communities to attend schools that are unable to provide them an opportunity to obtain basic literacy. These children do not learn to read properly, let alone to write properly, perform basic math functions, and comprehend state-mandated curricular content.

 

The lawyers went on to argue:

 

• On measures of literacy and basic education, in the 200 largest school districts in the country, California has eleven of the lowest performing twenty-six districts, including three among the lowest performing ten districts.

• Texas, the next largest state after California, has only one district in the bottom twenty-six.

• When it comes to literacy and basic education, California is bringing down the nation.

• State-mandated literacy test results, among other indicators, confirm that children in Plaintiffs’ Schools are not receiving a basic education equal to their peers in other districts—or even equal to children in other schools within their own districts.

 

As their case hinged on proving the state was depriving low-income students of colour of their constitutional right to a basic education, they stated,

 

… the State’s system of education is failing them. An education that does not provide access to literacy cannot be called an education at all. Nor can it prepare students to be citizens, participate meaningfully in politics, exercise free and robust speech, and voice the views of their communities. In California’s education system, the children of the“haves”receive access to a basic education while the children of the“have nots” are barred access, rendering the state system of public education the great unequalizer.

 

They then went on to outline how each plaintiff has been failed by the State and cited the long-term and far-reaching consequences of such failure. These include:

 

• Academic failure preventing access to higher education;

 

• Marginalisation and Incarceration – a survey cited found fewer than 5% of prisoners have proficient literacy skills;

 

• Being prevented from participating in democratic citizenship, e.g. reading ballot papers or serving on a jury;

 

• Problems achieving economic self-sufficiency as job prospects are poor.

 

 

A $53 million settlement, with no admission of liability, was reached – $50 million in school grants for literacy initiatives, behavioural intervention and teacher training in 75 under-performing elementary schools and $3 million for a statewide literacy director to develop an action plan and identify training needs.

 

The consequences of a failure to learn to read are so stark, it is to be hoped lessons will be learned from this case and preemptive action taken in all districts where children are currently failing. Although the State’s bill may seem high, how much more costly is it to fail to ensure children learn to read? School places cost significantly less than prison places. 

 

With the knowledge we have today of effective teaching practices and the science of reading, no child should face a bleak future. Let’s hope it is not too late for the plaintiffs forced to fight for the right to literacy. I wish them every success in the future and hope their efforts lead to better outcomes for their classmates and generations to come.

 

The full suit is available here and details of the settlement can be found here.

Images courtesy of Pixabay.