The Right to Literacy in California via Medium

The Right to Literacy in California

Medium: 1.15.2019 by Ethan Mora

A Californian’s “*Right to the Opportunity to Become Literate”

The Issue

Does the California Constitution afford California public school students a right to an opportunity to acquire basic literacy skills?

Alternatively: Does the California Constitution guarantee the right of every student in California’s public school system an opportunity to not remain illiterate?

The Short Answer

Yes. Although the California Constitution does not mention any specific qualitative or substantive standards for education, an appreciable body of historical and legal sources reflects the State’s assumed constitutional obligation to provide its citizens with a public education that includes, at minimum, the opportunity for students to achieve literacy in the English language.

My Analysis

The meaning of the word “education” is the core issue in establishing the constitutional right to an opportunity to attain literacy. The following discussion demonstrates that historical accounts pertaining to the drafting of the California Constitution, as well as current statutory language and jurisprudence, support the notion that literacy is, and always has been, presumed to be included in the definition of “education.” The California courts, Legislature, and the State’s constitutional framers, have all appreciated that no citizen can possibly have an education — let alone a basic, rudimentary, adequate, or quality education — if he or she is illiterate. Were the opportunity to become literate not inherent in the fundamental right to an education, the right to an education would be rendered meaningless. The opportunity to become literate is the foundation upon which the right to education is premised.

A. California Constitution & Judicial Interpretation

The fundamental right to an education as interpreted by the California courts is found primarily in article IX of the California Constitution. Courts have recognized education as a constitutionally protected right because of its universal relevance in society, its importance in preserving democracy, and its significance in shaping the culture. Literacy, as a foundational element of education, must be constitutionally protected for precisely the same reasons. Being literate is indispensable to one’s capacity to fully participate in society, and to exercise other constitutionally protected rights. An illiterate person, for example, cannot exercise his right to contract (Cal. Const. art. I, § 9), or his right to petition the government for redress of grievances and to access information concerning the conduct of the people’s business (Cal. Const. art. I, § 3).  READ MORE >>

*New Lawsuit :: Only One Fourth-Grader at a School in California Can Read at Grade Level via LA School Report

literacyspace:  7.20.2018