[Malveaux:] Federal regulators are investigating reports of sticking gas pedals. The Highway National Transportation Administration had received reports that could involve more than 700,000 vehicles. The investigators want to know if gas pedals caused one fatal accident and a number others that left people injured. The state of Michigan is getting sued for failing to do their job which is teaching students how to read. The ACLU has filed a first- of-its-kind lawsuit against the state for actually failing to teach students to read at grade level. Kary Moss is executive director of the ACLU of Michigan. She is joining us. Thank you for being here. First, tell why sue the state?
[Kary Moss, Executive: Director, Aclu Of Michigan:] Hi, Suzanne. Thank you for having me. We are suing the state, we are suing the district and the state board of education and the state superintendent for education, anybody who has some role and responsibility for teaching children is named in the case.
[Malveaux:] Well, why do why such a big goal here? Why not focus more specifically on, say, if a teacher has failed a student or a specific school?
[Moss:] Well, we were looking at the schools that are in the bottom 5 percent of testing scores. And in this district in particular, the numbers are just shocking. 90 percent of 11th graders are not reading proficient. 100 percent of 11th graders are not proficient in math or social study. Those are shocking numbers. The conditions in the school are not at all the kind of learning environment that kids need. And so what we are trying to say with this lawsuit is that, it is the obligation, at the end of the day, for the state and the school district and every adult to make sure that, bottom line, kids are learning how to read.
[Malveaux:] I understand that you can sue because the state law is that students have to be taught to read at grade level. The state's response and Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder's spokesperson would not directly comment on the case, but she said that "Everything that we have done and are doing is to ensure that the kids at Highland Park schools get the education they need and deserve." By suing the whole state here, how do you what do you think that is going to accomplish in terms of the very specifics that need to be done when you take a look at the kids and how they need to be taught?
[Moss:] Well, we are representing all of the children in the district. It is less than 1,000, 970-some kids, so we are the voice for these children. What we are saying is that the state and the district have not followed the law, which say when kids are not at reading level, the state is required to provide additional intervention services. That is not happening. The occasional programs that do come in are not effective or implemented properly. So somebody has to speak for the kids, and that is why we are calling this the Right to Read lawsuit.
[Malveaux:] I want you to hear what one mother had to say regarding this.
[Unidentified Parent:] I have an 11th grade daughter in Highland Park High School who is reading on the 3rd and 5th grade reading level on an assessment test. The district is not where it needs to be.
[Malveaux:] It is shocking when you hear that. But there is a line that you have to draw between the schools' responsibility, the state's responsibility, and even the parents' responsibility. How do you determine that the kids are failing the way they are?
[Moss:] Absolutely. Well, we just heard from Mrs. Johnson. That woman is in the school every single day. She goes to every school board meeting and does everything that any parent could reasonably do. Is there blame to go around? Absolutely. But, bottom line, all of the adults in these childrens' lives have failed them. They are not literate or taught to read. These statistics should sound an alarm that we have to think differently and work together differently to make sure that, bottom line, we are graduating a literate generation of children.
[Malveaux:] All right. Kary Moss, of the ACLU. Thank you very much. We appreciate it.
[Moss:] Thank you.
[Malveaux:] A rare look inside the Supreme Court. Tonight, Piers Morgan will talk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. That's at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN. Mitt Romney is stumping for votes in Ohio and speaking to a crowd in the next hour. And rumors are swirling that he is ready to pick the running mate. We look at what Americans think about the V.P. slot and how it might affect their votes.