A Girl Sues the School She Graduated with Honors, Without Being Able to Read or Write (3 photos)

A 19-year-old girl from Connecticut, USA, has sued her former public high school for failing her by allowing her to graduate "with honors" when she could not read or write.





Aleisha Ortiz graduated from Hartford Public High School with honors last June and even received a scholarship to college, but now she is suing her former school for negligently inflicting emotional distress on her. A 19-year-old girl is accusing a public school of neglecting her education, saying she can barely hold a pencil and has the reading ability of a first-grader.

Born in Puerto Rico, Aleisha struggled with learning at an early age, and those challenges continued after she moved to the United States at age 5. She says her school and the special education teacher assigned to her did little to help until they administered the extra testing she requested a month before graduation and realized she was virtually illiterate. School district officials told her she could defer her diploma in exchange for intensive services. She refused.

"I decided, 'They've had 12 years, now it's my time,'" Ortiz said in an interview, adding that the distinction meant the student had demonstrated academic achievement.



Aleisha says that modern apps helped her graduate from high school and go to college. She used smartphone apps to translate text and even filled out college applications and wrote the required essays. However, as a college student, it was a completely different situation. Aleisha admits that she found it difficult and stopped attending classes in early February. She wanted to take a leave of absence for mental health treatment, but hopes to return to classes soon.

Aleisha says she is suing her former school because she wants them to be held accountable for what she went through. She claims they "don't know what they're doing and they don't care," and hopes her lawsuit will prevent other young people from essentially having their educations stolen.

"I'm a very passionate person and I love learning," Ortiz says. "People gave me the opportunity to learn, and now I'm in college and I want to take advantage of it. Because this is my education."