Los Angeles Times

The ability to read and write is fundamental to a basic education, representing two of the traditional “three Rs” of schooling. And now a panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has taken that a step further: Literacy is a necessity for participating in public life and pursuing success. In other words, the panel’s majority wrote last week, a state’s failure to teach kids their ABCs denies students their rights under the U.S. Constitution.