She’s Suing Her Teacher, Claiming She Can’t Write Or Read After Graduating From High School
Can you imagine graduating high school and still not knowing how to read or write? That’s exactly what happened to one teenager, who is now suing the Connecticut Board of Education, among others, for passing her through the education system without teaching her these basic skills.
In a shocking lawsuit against the city of Hartford, the Board of Education, and one of her special education teachers, 19-year-old Aleysha Ortiz, a graduate of Hartford Public Schools, is claiming that she graduated from high school unable to read or write, despite asking for more support for years.
But how does such a case of academic failure even happen? So, when Ortiz was in first grade, she moved from Puerto Rico to Connecticut and became a student at Hartford Public Schools.
Not only did she struggle with the language barrier, but other issues as well, like ADHD, dyslexia, and a speech impediment.
“Every first day of school, I would tell the teacher I cannot read or write so please be patient with me, so everyone knew,” said the teen.
“I would cry knowing the people who had big titles knew this was happening, and no one stepped up to do something about it.”
The specific complaint mentions Tilda Santiago, a special education teacher and case manager. Santiago allegedly yelled at Ortiz and humiliated her in front of other students and teachers.
When Ortiz realized that no one was going to give her the help she needed, she took matters into her own hands.
Most of her free time was spent learning, listening to audio recordings of her classes, and utilizing technology like talk-to-text applications to complete her assignments.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
She worked hard to improve her grades and meet her credit requirements. In the end, she got to walk across the stage with her fellow classmates at graduation.
Ortiz was accepted into the University of Connecticut and wants to focus on studying special education policy and advocacy to help make sure that no other student will have to experience what she did. As for the lawsuit, she is suing all parties for an undisclosed amount of money in damages.
More About:Human Interest