Is reading a fundamental right?

I would argue that literacy is inextricably tied to speech which is a guaranteed Right. However, with every Right comes a Responsibility. Both belong to individuals. Remember, teachers are not responsible for putting knowledge into our heads. Learning is the students responsibility. The teacher is there to help.

How can you force someone to learn to read?

Interesting concept/question. Have no statistics to back this up, but Constitution was written during the time where a significant portion of the population could not read, but everyone could speak so freedom of speech was included in the Constitution but freedom to read wasn't even thought of. Through the centuries the ability to read was always a privilege of the upper levels of society, not the general population, so historically speaking it's not a fundamental right. Modern societies have evolved and educated themselves to the point where the ability to read is a necessity to be able to completely function but I'm not so sure that this fact makes it a right. I tend to agree with CPT Jack Durish that reading is a subset inextricably tied to speech, without speech there is no written word and if there is no written word there is no need to read.

No it doesn't. However, how can you participate in our government if you are illiterate? Voting, jury duty and a whole host of other things require literacy skills

It is a fundamental responsibility. I was often told, "Leaders are readers."

Reading is a necessity, if you don't want to be cheated.

SGT (Join to see) It is not a right, but much needed in our world today.

Yes. In my opinion, literacy falls into the domain of education and the ability to receive an education in order to allow one to benefit as a knowledgeable, informed individual should be a right. Just because something isn't outlined in the Constitution doesn't mean it isn't an inherit right that is necessary for one to be part of a society and culture. Those that would support efforts in limiting one's access to learn a necessary skill are those that want to control people through ignorance. We can refer to generations of illiterate people in the Middle East that depend on the educated few to tell what something says, means, represents, and tell them what to do and how to live their lives.
Once resources are made available to a person then it becomes an individual responsibility to educate themselves.

Hunt the good stuff, lets reword "Idiots sue to stay idiots"

I believe that the lawsuits are flawed. In what way is the state denying people the right to read? All of my children, and my grandchildren could read simple children's level books before they ever hit kindergarten.

For a person to exercise a right, there is no requirement that the government facilitate, support, or endorse the person's exercise of that right; only that the government not interfere. Detroit gets the same amount of money from the state on a student per capita student basis as every other school district. All of my children, and my grandchildren could read simple children's books before they ever hit kindergarten.

The voter's of Detroit have every right to be angry, but not because their right is being taken away by the state. They should be angry at themselves and the piss poor local officials with which they have entrusted their municipal government. Detroit hit a peak population in the 50's of nearly 2 million, then the voter's screwed the pooch and elected officials' that so badly managed the cities affairs that it was easier for businesses to leave the city and rebuild elsewhere, than to contine to invest in going concern (I know it's more complicated than that, but the city spent like drunken sailors and never prepared for lean times.) Now the population of Detroit is less than 700,000 and it simply doesn't have the population and tax base to support the sprawling infrastructure of a once great city.