A Connecticut honors student is suing her school district, saying she is illiterate.
Despite graduating from Hartford Public High School in June with honors and getting a scholarship to the University of Connecticut, Aleysha Ortiz is claiming she cannot read or write.
The 19-year-old, who spent 12 years in the Hartford public school district, testified at a May city council meeting, explaining her unique situation and how the educational system failed her.
“I decided, they [the school] had 12 years,” Ortiz, a native of Puerto Rico, told CNN. “Now it’s my time.”
Ortiz is suing the Hartford Board of Education, the City of Hartford and her special education case manager, Tilda Santiago, for negligence.
According to her lawsuit, she began having problems with “letter, sound and number recognition” as early as first grade, and because those issues were not addressed, she began acting out in school.