The state legislature is in the process of negotiating budget bills that include the $94.4 million for Detroit literacy programs.
The money comes from a landmark case in 2016, in which seven students from the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) sued the state, including former governor Rick Snyder and current governor Gretchen Whitmer, because they felt the school system denied them literacy skills when they were pupils due to the schools’ distractingly poor conditions. The lawsuit was settled in 2020. However, the state legislature tied up the funds in 2021 and 2022.
Not only is the settlement intended to improve literacy levels in Detroit’s public schools, but also fund two task forces, the Detroit Literacy Equity Task Force and the Detroit Education Policy Committee, to assist in that effort. The committee will set policy, and the equity task force will conduct annual evaluations and make recommendations to the governor. It’s undecided if the evaluations will be made public.
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