Civil rights lawsuit filed on behalf of Detroit students

(WJBK) - A civil rights lawsuit was announced Tuesday morning against Gov. Rick Snyder and the Michigan State Board of Education, charging that the state is violating the U.S. Constitution by not providing Detroit students with their fundamental right of access to literacy skills and interventions.

Lawyers, parents, school staff, and current and former teachers announced the lawsuit. They say a lack of teachers, textbooks and other supplies in addition to deplorable school conditions led up to the filing.

"At Hamilton, for example, last year, an eighth grade student was assigned to run an eighth gradn and a 7th grade math class. the teacher assigned to that class had quit; the paraprofessional who had no qualification said it was too much; and so the school used an eighth grader to teach a 7th and 8th grade class," says Mark Rosenbaum, Director of Public Counsel's Opportunity Under Law project.

"I've always said that I believe Detroit will be great again when put children in a winning position, and our kids haven't been winning for a long time," said Sharlonda Buckman with the Detroit Parent Network.

The lawsuit is the first of its kind in the nation.