The Aleysha Ortiz lawsuit is a negligence case filed in December 2024 in Hartford Superior Court by a 2024 Hartford Public High School graduate who says she completed 12 years in the district, earned honors grades, and still cannot read or write. Ortiz is suing the Hartford Board of Education, the City of Hartford, and a special education case manager, and her attorneys have offered to settle for $3 million. As of the last public hearing on August 11, 2025, the defendants were pushing to have the case dismissed, and Judge Matthew Gordon had not ruled.1Hartford Courant. Hartford’s Attorneys Argue for Dismissal of Aleysha Ortiz Lawsuit
Who Aleysha Ortiz Is
Ortiz was 19 when the suit was filed. She spent her entire K–12 education in Hartford Public Schools and graduated from Hartford Public High School in 2024 with honors-level grades. Evaluations near the end of her senior year diagnosed her with dyslexia on top of previously diagnosed ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, anxiety, and a communication disorder.2CNN. Connecticut Aleysha Ortiz Illiterate Lawsuit Her attorneys and reporting by the CT Mirror say Hartford school officials acknowledged in recorded meetings that Ortiz never received direct reading instruction or intervention during those 12 years.3CT Mirror. Can’t Read High School CT Hartford
What the Lawsuit Alleges
The complaint was filed on December 10, 2024, and names the Hartford Board of Education, the City of Hartford, and special education case manager Tilda Santiago.4CT Mirror. Aleysha Ortiz CT Grad Can’t Read Lawsuit A later settlement offer also named a second case manager, Norma Reyes.5WSMV. Woman Who Claims She Graduated Without Being Able to Read Seeks $3 Million Settlement The suit raises three counts, including negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress, built around three categories of alleged failure.
On special education services, the complaint alleges Hartford never provided Ortiz with explicit phonics, fluency, or reading comprehension instruction despite her documented learning disabilities. It says the district ignored an occupational therapy referral from the Puerto Rico Department of Education and failed to act on her requests for dyslexia testing.3CT Mirror. Can’t Read High School CT Hartford
On staff misconduct, the lawsuit accuses Santiago of repeated verbal abuse, controlling behavior, and stalking on school grounds, alleging she used intimidation to interfere with Ortiz’s efforts to obtain services she was entitled to.6KWTX. Woman Who Claims She Graduated Without Being Able to Read Seeks $3 Million Settlement Reyes is accused of contributing to emotional harm through similar conduct.7WTNH. Hartford Woman Who Graduated High School Unable to Read or Write Offers to Settle Lawsuit
On reporting mandates, the complaint alleges the district disregarded Connecticut requirements for reporting bullying, harassment, and suspected abuse. Ortiz says she reported Santiago’s conduct to the school’s principal and assistant principal, and that no corrective action was taken.1Hartford Courant. Hartford’s Attorneys Argue for Dismissal of Aleysha Ortiz Lawsuit
The $3 Million Settlement Offer
Ortiz is represented by Barry, Taylor & Levesque, LLC, with attorney Anthony Spinella as lead counsel. Spinella, a former senior assistant state’s attorney in Connecticut, has more than 22 years of trial experience.8BBS Attorneys. Hartford Lawsuit Exposes Failures in Bullying Prevention and Special Education In the summer of 2025 the firm sent the defendants a formal offer to settle all three counts for $3 million.9WFSB. Hartford Woman Who Claims She Graduated Without Being Able to Read Seeks $3 Million Settlement No public response from the defendants to that offer has been reported. Spinella has said that if the court dismisses the case, he will appeal.10CT Mirror. Aleysha Ortiz Lawsuit Hartford
The Motion to Dismiss
Attorneys for the Board of Education, the City of Hartford, and Santiago moved to dismiss the case and argued the motion before Judge Matthew Gordon on August 11, 2025. Their central argument turns on Connecticut’s governmental immunity doctrine: they say the actions of school employees were “discretionary” rather than “ministerial,” meaning staff were not legally required to act in one specific way and are therefore shielded from liability.11CT Public. Hartford’s Attorneys Argue to Dismiss Lawsuit Brought by Student Who Graduated Without Learning to Read Judge Gordon did not rule at the hearing.1Hartford Courant. Hartford’s Attorneys Argue for Dismissal of Aleysha Ortiz Lawsuit
Why This Kind of Case Is Hard to Win
Courts have historically rejected claims that a school failed to teach a student. In Peter W. v. San Francisco Unified (1976), a California appeals court found “no workable basis for imposing a duty of care” on a district after a student graduated reading at a fifth-grade level, in part because academic outcomes depend on too many factors to pin on the school. In Donohue v. Copiague School District (1979), a New York court recognized a theoretical duty but dismissed the claim, calling liability an intrusion on school governance.12Brookings Institution. Can Schools Commit Malpractice? It Depends
A review of roughly 80 educational malpractice cases across four decades identified only one plaintiff who succeeded on that theory, in a case shaped by specific language in Montana’s state constitution.12Brookings Institution. Can Schools Commit Malpractice? It Depends That history explains the shape of Ortiz’s complaint. Her attorneys did not plead educational malpractice. They pleaded negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and they anchored the case in specific staff conduct and alleged violations of existing legal mandates rather than a general claim that the district failed to teach her to read.
What Happens Next
The case remains pending in Hartford Superior Court before Judge Gordon. The next milestone is his ruling on the motion to dismiss. If the motion is denied, the case moves toward discovery and trial on the $3 million claim. If it is granted, Spinella has said he will appeal.13News From the States. Hartford’s Attorneys Argue Dismissal of Aleysha Ortiz Lawsuit Separately, Ortiz filed a special education due process complaint against the district in the summer of 2024, which Connecticut Senate Republicans said was still being processed as of December 2024.14CT Senate Republicans. CT GOP Seeks Accountability for High School Grad Who Can’t Read
The case has also prompted state-level attention to Hartford’s special education programming. Connecticut Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker said a review of Ortiz’s individual records raised concerns that “aligned with a larger systemic evaluation” of the district, and the state education department announced it was intensifying monitoring of Hartford schools.15Hartford Courant. State Finds Hartford Schools Drowning in Special Education, Open Choice Costs, Struggles to Provide Special Ed Services