MoProBono - Spring 2018 Update

16 MoProBono Spring 2018 LITERACY RIGHTS IN CALIFORNIA MoFo continues its long tradition of advocacy for educational equity in California with Ella T. v. State of California , a landmark education case brought under the California Constitution that seeks to vindicate the right of all students to gain literacy. Filed in Los Angeles by Public Counsel and MoFo attorneys on behalf of students from three different schools, as well as advocacy organizations CADRE and Fathers & Families of San Joaquin, the case demands that the State of California ensure all California students receive evidence-based literacy instruction at the elementary and secondary level, in the conditions necessary to support teaching and learning. The lawsuit claims the State has violated the fundamental right to education of these children, who are mostly low-income and students of color, by depriving them of access to the most fundamental educational building block: literacy. MoFo partner Michael Jacobs, who leads MoFo’s Ella T. v. State of California team of attorneys, said of the case, which is still pending, “The data on literacy in California is so overwhelming and disheartening. We believe a focused, disciplined effort to solve the problem could yield concrete improvements. California and its local governments need to do their job to ensure literacy is achieved for all students. The State has a constitutional and moral duty to teach all children to read and write. We intend for this lawsuit to push toward that goal.” “The data on literacy in California is so overwhelming and disheartening. We believe a focused, disciplined effort to solve the problem could yield concrete improvements. California and its local governments need to do their job to ensure literacy is achieved for all students.”