A Connecticut student who can’t read or write earned a diploma and attends university, while Oregon suspends literacy graduation requirements through 2028.
A few weeks before high school graduation, Aleysha Ortiz had some stern words for Hartford Board of Education members at their meeting in Hartford, Connecticut on May 7, 2024.
“I felt like they didn’t care about my future,” she said, referring to her school. “I truly believe that you do not value me as a student and as a human being and that you do not care about my education.”
Ortiz was still awarded a diploma by Hartford High School and accepted at the University of Connecticut-Hartford despite never learning to read or write, according to a lawsuit she filed against the Hartford Board of Education in December 2024.
Due to language limitations, Ortiz had required an individualized learning plan since the first grade, the lawsuit states. It said she was supervised by a team of case managers and special education teachers during her entire academic career. By middle school, most of her academic skills were at kindergarten or first-grade levels, the lawsuit states.
A school social worker issued a report on Ortiz’s situation during the end of her junior year, on May 23, 2023. The report stated that Ortiz “consistently and persistently advocated for reading and writing supports; reported that she could not write and could barely hold a pencil; reported that she struggled to sit and write in class; and that she had to take work home to use talk to text on her computer,” the lawsuit noted.
The Epoch Times contacted Hartford Public Schools for a statement, but didn’t receive a response.
Recent state assessment results that show low literacy scores for students across the country, along with high graduation rates, suggest Ortiz may not be an anomaly.
Public school literacy challenges, complicated by language barriers, special education requirements, and the use of assistive technology that can circumvent the learning process, could be a hot topic for education policymakers and legislators in the months ahead.
Jason Dudash, West Coast director of the Freedom Foundation think tank, said historical standards for reading and writing are eroding.
