Two high school graduates say they can’t read or write are suing Their respective public school systems, Think they didn’t get the free public education they deserved.
William A., professor at Cornell Law School.
“I think these cases reflect a deeper problem in education. For each of these cases, there may be thousands of students who have never been properly educated — they are pushed along the system,” Jacobson said. “Unfortunately…we have created incentives, especially for the public school system, just pushing students forward, not holding them accountable.”
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“For decades, 13-year-olds have had their math and reading scores at their lowest levels,” the White House said in a statement published Thursday. (Jose Luis Magana/AP)
“Since 1979, the U.S. Department of Education has spent $3 trillion The fact sheet reads: “There is little to show. Added During that period, there were few measurable student grades over 245%: Mathematics and Reading Scores for 13-year-olds The lowest level in decades. …Two out of seven people in fourth and eighth grades are Not proficient In reading, although 40% of fourth-grade students do not even reach basic reading level. ”
Tennessee litigation
An Appeal Court Judge recently worked with Tennessee student William A.
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Clarksville, Tennessee, argued in the lawsuit that he was deprived of free public education because he never taught how to read or write dyslexia. (iStock)
Circuit Judge Raymond Kethledge wrote in the verdict: “William graduated from high school and was unable to read or even spelled his name.” “That’s because he relied on many accommodations that he could not read under the terms of his IEP.”
To write a paper, William would talk to the topic to pronunciation to text software, then paste the words into an AI application like chat-gpt, and then “generate papers on the topic,” Kethledge explains. William would then paste the text into his own document and “run the paper through another software program like Grammarly to reflect the appropriate writing style.”
William A. used an artificial intelligence (AI) application like Chat-GPT to do his class work. (iStock)
William suffered from severe dyslexia, had 12 years of public education through the Independent Education Program (IEP), never learned to read or write, and still graduated with a 3.4 GPA.
“This kid doesn’t understand.”
William in 2020, in the ninth grade, a special education teacher asked a school psychologist to “[p]Rental to see William [A]. I’m very worried. ”
The lawsuit said the teacher said, “This child can’t understand.”
Aerial view of downtown Clarksville, Tennessee. (iStock)
Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS) in Tennessee “knowing that he couldn’t read, directly through him, created a 3.41 artificial GPA at the end of Grade 11, and even though he lacked basic reading skills, William took William on the path of a regular education diploma,” the original complaint read. ”
CMCSS told Fox News Digital that it has no comment on pending lawsuits.
By March 2023, William could not consistently spell his first and last name when signing the IEP. In June 2023, William’s own writing sample showed that he was unable to write more than 31 words in three minutes. He misspelled half of the words, all of which were kindergarten sight, and he had already remembered him. ”
Connecticut litigation
In a similar lawsuit in Connecticut, a high school graduate named Aleysha Ortiz similarly received years of public education in Hartford County, but learning disabilities and IEPs were never taught how to read or write.
“I think these cases reflect a deeper problem in education,” said William Jacobson, a professor at Cornell Law School. (iStock)
The complaint said Ortiz not only graduated with honors, but was also admitted to the University of Connecticut.
Ortiz noted in her complaint that although her reading and writing skills were not properly addressed, she was “younger than socially and emotionally” and was bullied.
Aleysha Ortiz filed a lawsuit against the Hartford County Board of Education in December 2024. (iStock)
Like William, Ortiz began using “assistive technology to help her read and write and to promote herself relentlessly in school.”
“She told them she was worried that she wasn’t ready to go to college…”
“In May 2024, the plaintiff reported to her case manager and accepted and planned to accept the University of Connecticut after graduation,” the complaint said. “She told them she was worried that she was not preparing for the university and that she would not be able to obtain the accommodation she needed to succeed in the university because the board refused to allow proper testing.”
“Since 1979, the U.S. Department of Education has spent more than $3 trillion, and there is little to show,” the White House fact sheet said. (via Getty Images in Pictures Ltd./corbis)
Ortiz is worried that her basic reading and writing skills will “influence her ability to succeed in college”, but”[t]It wasn’t until about a month before graduation [Hartford Board of Education] Agree to conduct other tests that the plaintiff has been asking for. ”
The Hartford Education Commission attorney did not respond to Fox News numbers.
“Deeper Problems”
Jacobson told Fox News Digital that “fairly” for teachers and school districts, they “get stuck between forces and push each other.”
“On the one hand, there is usually money related to performance. If you don’t let students fail, if you don’t raise them, that can affect the money the school district gets,” he explained. “There are some students who have parents…hope they don’t fail. So there’s a lot of pressure there.”
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William Jacobson, a law professor at Cornell University, said the two lawsuits highlighted the bigger problems in the U.S. public education system. (iStock)
one Increase in student population in public schools There is an IEP, which means that more and more students have personalized learning programs that have been overwhelmed by a shortage of staff in the state and must be adapted according to the law.
“This is a real problem, it’s a core failure at our education system.”
“Obviously, it’s different from the region,” Jacobson said. “Some people have good intentions. Some people may not have good intentions and just want to get along.”
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Cornell Law Professor added that while he didn’t see AI going in future education, “we have to be very sure that AI won’t really fool students in the end rather than informing students because you can rely heavily on it, which is another problem, but it’s one that we can’t ignore.”
Students in classroom working on laptop. (Kurt “Cyberguy” Knutsson)
Additionally, parents should focus more on helping their children read and write, Jacobson said.
“I think parents will be better at focusing on helping their students and their children learn, rather than worrying about the next lawsuit,” he said. “I realize that this may be a bit unrealistic because we are in a culture of trying to cash in on the lawsuit, but I think our energy should be focused on fixing the system and getting students properly treated, rather than: How are we going to sue the school district?”
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Justin Gilbert, an attorney representing William A., told Fox News Digital[w]In the United States, as many as 20% of students suffer from dyslexia, and William’s case reinforces the need for teachers trained in dyslexia. ”
“Most of us take reading for granted, but once we go beyond the ‘reading window’ of elementary school, learning to read becomes more difficult,” Gilbert said. “This is especially true for students with dyslexia. William’s case reminds people that while this is a tragic case, awareness of dyslexia needs to be raised in public schools.”
