CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Middle Tennessee school district has been ordered to provide hundreds of hours of tutoring after a federal appeals court ruled it failed to provide a dyslexic student with appropriate reading instruction.
The parents of the student, identified as William A. in court documents, sued the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System after he graduated high school with a 3.4 GPA but was unable to read. Despite having an Individualized Education Plan, the lawsuit argued the district did not provide the necessary support under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Court documents revealed that teachers had expressed concerns about the student’s reading ability, with one emailing administrators, “This kid can’t read.”
The court found the school district focused on reading fluency rather than foundational literacy skills, failing to meet the student’s needs. The ruling ordered the district to provide 888 hours of compensatory dyslexia tutoring.
Niki Richardson, founder of the Tennessee Dyslexia Alliance, said the case highlights a widespread issue.
“The fact is there are going to be other people out there. They may have graduated, but they still lack other skills,” Richardson said.
Richardson, a dyslexia therapist, said students with dyslexia need specific instruction to develop reading skills.
“Our brain has to have that wiring that we give it to learn how to read,” she said. “Certain things have to fire, and certain highways have to be built. Some dyslexic students don’t have that wiring.”
She believes most educators want to help students succeed but could use more training and resources.
“At the heart of these educators, they want to do right by that student, and they’re doing the best with the tools they’re given,” Richardson said. “I look toward school districts and leaders to be more empowered to take this dyslexia initiative on.”
Richardson, a former public school educator, founded the Tennessee Dyslexia Alliance to advocate for students struggling with literacy.
“I think we have more good happening for our students than bad,” she said. “We just need a little more.”
The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System appealed the lower court’s ruling, but the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the decision in favor of the student.
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Fundraising efforts are underway in Brownsville and Nutbush, TN to build a statue for a major superstar who was raised there, Anna Mae Bullock. You probably know her by her stage name, Tina Turner. I was a huge fan of Tina and glad to see efforts are underway to showcase more of her ties to West Tennessee.
-Lelan Statom
