A 19-year-old Connecticut woman, Aleysha Ortiz, has filed a lawsuit against Hartford Public High School, accusing it of failing to provide her with a proper education despite allowing her to graduate with honours.
Ortiz, who was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the United States at age 5, says she struggled with learning difficulties throughout her school years. However, the school did little to support her until just one month before graduation, when additional testing revealed she was functionally illiterate.
Despite her inability to read or write at an advanced level, Ortiz earned honours status and even secured a college scholarship. She claims she relied heavily on translation apps that converted text to speech and speech to text, which helped her complete assignments, fill out applications, and even write her college essay.
Ortiz was accepted into the University of Connecticut, but the transition has been overwhelming. She admits that college coursework has been far more challenging, and she stopped attending classes in February due to the emotional toll. She is currently focusing on mental health treatment but hopes to return to school.
Ortiz is suing the Hartford school district for negligent infliction of emotional distress, claiming that the school system effectively robbed her of an education by failing to address her learning needs.
“People took that opportunity for me to learn, and now I’m in college and I wanna take advantage of that. Because this is my education.”
She hopes her legal battle will hold school officials accountable and prevent other students from experiencing the same educational neglect.
