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EXCLUSIVE: A High Schooler Graduated with a 3.4 GPA. He Couldn’t Even Read.
(Photo by Dick Kraus via Getty Images; Illustration by The Free Press)
Now, the Tennessee teen is suing his school district, Frannie Block reports.
By Frannie Block
02.12.25 — Education
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When William graduated high school in 2024 in Clarksville, Tennessee, he couldn’t read the words on his diploma. Despite ending the school year with a 3.4 GPA, he couldn’t even spell his own name.

That’s why William sued his school district, claiming it had left him “illiterate” and that he was denied the “free appropriate public education” guaranteed to all students by federal law.

On February 3, a federal appeals court sided with William, concluding that he was “capable of learning to read,” and agreeing with his claim that his lack of education had caused him “broad irreparable harm.”

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Frannie Block
Frannie Block is an investigative reporter at The Free Press, where she covers the forces shaping American life—from foreign influence in U.S. politics and national security to institutional overreach and due process failures. She began her career covering breaking news at The Des Moines Register.
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