The lawsuit: in California, a crisis with students who can’t read

The lawsuit: in California, a crisis with students who can’t read

A group of lawyers representing the teachers and pupils from poor schools California, sued the state, claiming that California education officials are not taking any steps to improve the situation of students who cannot read.

«If we are talking about literacy and the provision of basic knowledge, California pulls the country back,» — says the Associated Press public lawyer mark Rosenbaum.

The lawsuit: in California, a crisis with students who can’t read

According to him, estimates show that less than half of California students from 3rd to 5th classes meet the standards for literacy in 2015. According to this indicator, in the United States dedicated 26 the most backward school districts, of which 11 are in California. For comparison, in Texas, second largest state – just one.

The representative of the Ministry of education bill Ainsworth said that while the lawsuit could not comment on the situation, but noted that California allocated more than $ 10 billion per year for students from low-income families, foster children and foreign children learning English.

Among the main plaintiffs – three schools in California with the lowest rating: primary school La Salle Avenue in Los Angeles; Children of Promise Preparatory Academy Inglewood elementary school and Van Buren in the city of Stockton, Central California.

According to the lawsuit, for example, 11-year-old girl, Kathy T., who graduated from fifth grade at school, La Salle, reads at a third grade level and received no real help. The test results showed that at this school 96% of pupils do not speak English or mathematics at the required level.

David Moss, who has worked at the school 18 years, said that teachers do not help children to cope with the situation, and programs that seemed effective was later discontinued.

The plaintiffs want the state created a system of monitoring the level of literacy of students. They also require to check the ability to read in primary schools at the beginning and the middle of the school year.

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