Two high school graduates who say they can’t read or write are suing their respective public school systems, arguing they were not given the free public education to which they are entitled.

Cornell Law School Professor William A. Jacobson, director of the Securities Law Clinic, told Fox News Digital the lawsuits signify a “much deeper problem” with the American public school system.

“I think these cases reflect a deeper problem in education. For each of these cases, there are probably tens of thousands of students who never got a proper education — they get pushed along the system,” Jacobson said. “Unfortunately … we’ve created incentives, particularly for public school systems, to just push students along and not to hold them accountable.”

President Donald Trump has railed against the Department of Education for “failing American students,” a White House fact sheet published Thursday reads. The administration has suggested plans to eliminate the Department altogether, directing education authority to individual states.

The Cornell Law professor added that while he does not see AI going anywhere in the future of education, “we’ve got to be very firm that AI does not end up actually dumbing down the students rather than informing the students, because you can become very dependent on it, and that’s another problem, but it’s one we can’t ignore.”

Students in a classroom working on their laptops. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Additionally, Jacobson said, parents should be more focused on helping their children to read and write.

“I think parents would be better focused on helping their students and their children learn, rather than worrying about the next lawsuit,” he said. “I realize that might be a little unrealistic, because we are in a culture of trying to cash in on lawsuits, but I think our energy should be focused on fixing the system and getting students properly treated, as opposed to: how are we going to sue the school district?”

Justin Gilbert, the attorney representing William A., told Fox News Digital that “[w]ith up to 20% of the students in the United States having dyslexia, William’s case reinforces the need for dyslexia-trained teachers.”

“Most of us take reading for granted, but once we move outside the ‘reading window’ of the elementary school years, learning to read becomes much harder,” Gilbert said. “That’s particularly true for students with dyslexia. William’s case is a reminder, though a tragic one, of the need for greater awareness of dyslexia in the public schools.”