LANSING, Mich. – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will ask the Michigan Legislature to provide at least $94.4 million to Detroit's public schools to settle a lawsuit that describes the city's schools as “slum-like” and basically incapable of delivering access to literacy.
The settlement agreement was signed Thursday and comes weeks after a federal appeals court issued a groundbreaking decision recognizing a constitutional right to education and literacy.
Under the settlement, Whitmer must propose legislation to fund literacy-related programs and other initiatives for the Detroit Public Schools Community District.
The state must also provide $280,000 to be shared by seven students named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, to be used for a high-quality