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Education

Inside Our Schools

Chaos at the School Board

How School Board Meetings Became Flashpoints for Anger and Chaos Across the Country

In the first wide-ranging analysis of school board unrest, ProPublica found nearly 60 incidents that led to arrests or criminal charges. Almost all were in suburban districts, and nearly every participant was white.

by Nicole Carr and Lucas Waldron,

Chaos at the School Board

How One New Jersey School Board Flipped to a Conservative Majority

An angry parent confronted a New Jersey school board president, accelerating a chain of events that pushed the board to the right.

by Nicole Carr,

Can America’s Students Recover What They Lost During the Pandemic?

Disastrous test scores increasingly show how steep a toll the COVID-19 era exacted on students, particularly minorities. Schools are grappling with how to catch up, and the experience of one city shows how intractable the obstacles are.

by Alec MacGillis,

Crisis Point

New York Charter Schools Write Their Own Rules for When to Call 911 on Students Having a Mental Health Crisis

Families say Success Academy and other publicly funded but privately run schools are allowed to punish and discriminate against students by calling in emergency services.

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY; Photography by Sarah Blesener for ProPublica,

Local Reporting Network

Impact of Our Reporting
Caret

The Price Kids Pay

Illinois Officials Will Try a Second Time to Make Good on Pledge to Reform Student Ticketing

Despite legislative setbacks, state leaders and Gov. J.B. Pritzker say they remain committed to stopping schools from continuing to use police to punish students.

by Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards,

Baker College Faces Federal Investigation Over “Recruitment and Marketing Practices”

ProPublica and the Detroit Free Press found that Baker College spent more on marketing than it did on financial aid. Now, the school faces an inquiry by the U.S. Department of Education.

by Anna Clark,

Washington State Legislature Strengthens Oversight of Private Special Education Schools

In response to a Seattle Times and ProPublica series, the state is getting more power to regulate schools for students with disabilities.

by Lulu Ramadan and Mike Reicher, The Seattle Times,

Local Reporting Network

Series

Series: Chaos at the School Board: Unraveling America’s School Board Unrest

Series: Unequal Discipline: Native Students Face Harsh Discipline in New Mexico

Series: The Price Kids Pay: How Schools and Police Work Together to Punish Students

Series: The Pandemic and Illinois Schools: A Digital Divide, Vulnerable Students and Hidden Data

Series: Grace: A Failure in Michigan’s Juvenile Justice System

Series: Lessons Lost: How Federal Schools Are Failing Native American Students

Series: Dollars for Profs: The Lucrative World of Academic Moonlighting

Series: The Quiet Rooms: Children Locked Away in Illinois Schools

Series: Campus Complicity: Faculty Sexual Misconduct in Illinois

Series: Financial Aid Loophole: Giving Up Guardianship to Get Aid

Series: The $3 Million Research Breakdown: University of Illinois at Chicago’s Troubling Study

Series: The Failure Track: Alternative Schools and Accountability

Series: Evaluating Charter Schools: Questions About Public Transparency and Private Profits

Series: College Debt: How College Debt is Putting the Squeeze on Families

173 stories published since 2015

Illinois Officials Will Try a Second Time to Make Good on Pledge to Reform Student Ticketing

by Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards,

Baker College Faces Federal Investigation Over “Recruitment and Marketing Practices”

by Anna Clark,

He Became Convinced the School Board Was Pushing “Transgender Bullshit.” He Ended Up Arrested — and Emboldened.

by Nicole Carr,

The Newest College Admissions Ploy: Paying to Make Your Teen a “Peer-Reviewed” Author

by Daniel Golden, ProPublica, and Kunal Purohit,

The Student Protesters Were Arrested. The Man Who Got Violent in the Parking Lot Wasn’t.

by Nicole Carr; Photography by Terra Fondriest for ProPublica,

NYC Schools Handcuff and Haul Away Kids in Emotional Crisis

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY, photography by Sarah Blesener for ProPublica,

Washington State Legislature Strengthens Oversight of Private Special Education Schools

by Lulu Ramadan and Mike Reicher, The Seattle Times,

Techos colapsados, baños sin servicio, salones inundados: dentro de las escuelas peor financiadas del país

por Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, fotografía por Sarah A. Miller, Idaho Statesman,

Many chairs stacked in a dark, unfinished space with puddles of water on the bare concrete floor.

Ayúdenos a informar sobre las deterioradas escuelas públicas de Idaho

por Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, y Asia Fields, ProPublica,

Many chairs stacked in a dark, unfinished space with puddles of water on the bare concrete floor.

Help Us Report on Idaho’s Deteriorating Public Schools

by Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, and Asia Fields, ProPublica,

Collapsing Roofs, Broken Toilets, Flooded Classrooms: Inside the Worst-Funded Schools in the Nation

by Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, photography by Sarah A. Miller, Idaho Statesman,

A Chicago Suburb Stopped Ticketing Students. But It Won’t Stop Pursuing a 3-Year-Old Case Over Missing AirPods.

by Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica, and Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune,

Have a Student in New Mexico Schools? Here Is What to Know About How School Discipline Works.

by Asia Fields,

The Federal Government Is Investigating an Illinois School Where Students With Disabilities Were Frequently Arrested

by Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune, and Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica,

New Bill Could End Police Ticketing in Illinois Schools

by Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica, and Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune,

School District Pays Legal Fees After Banning Mothers From Reading Sexually Graphic Passages at Meetings

by Nicole Carr,

How One Mom Fought Washington’s Special Education System — and Won

by Lulu Ramadan and Mike Reicher, The Seattle Times,

Gallup School Superintendent Says Changing a Label Explains Away Its Harsh Native Student Discipline. It Doesn’t.

by Marjorie Childress, New Mexico In Depth, and Steve Myers, ProPublica,

Judge Orders Washington State Private Special Education School to Turn Over Records

by Lulu Ramadan, The Seattle Times,

Washington State Launches Investigation of Private Special Education Schools

by Mike Reicher and Lulu Ramadan, The Seattle Times,

A School Superintendent Says Our Story About Expulsions in His District Is Incorrect. Here’s Why He’s Wrong.

by Bryant Furlow, New Mexico In Depth,

Muzzled by DeSantis, Critical Race Theory Professors Cancel Courses or Modify Their Teaching

by Daniel Golden,

America’s Adult Education System Is Broken. Here’s How Experts Say We Can Fix It.

by Annie Waldman, Aliyya Swaby and Anna Clark,

This School District Is Ground Zero for Harsh Discipline of Native Students in New Mexico

by Bryant Furlow, New Mexico In Depth, with additional reporting by Asia Fields, Maya Miller and Joel Jacobs, ProPublica,

How We Found the School District Responsible for Much of New Mexico’s Outsized Discipline of Native Students

by Joel Jacobs, ProPublica, and Bryant Furlow, New Mexico In Depth,

The School That Calls the Police on Students Every Other Day

by Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune, and Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica,

A Fifth of American Adults Struggle to Read. Why Are We Failing to Teach Them?

by Annie Waldman, Aliyya Swaby and Anna Clark, with additional reporting by Nicole Santa Cruz, photography by Kathleen Flynn, special to ProPublica,

Washington State Proposes Reforms for Special Education Schools

by Mike Reicher and Lulu Ramadan, The Seattle Times,

“Kids Seem to Be a Paycheck”: How a Billion-Dollar Corporation Exploits Washington’s Special Education System

by Lulu Ramadan, Mike Reicher and Taylor Blatchford, The Seattle Times,

At Washington State Special Education Schools, Years of Abuse Complaints and Lack of Academics

by Mike Reicher and Lulu Ramadan, The Seattle Times,

Public Schools Are NYC’s Main Youth Mental Health System. Where Kids Land Often Depends on What Their Parents Can Pay.

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY, illustrations by Holly Stapleton, special to ProPublica,

State Investigation Reveals Racial Disparities in Student Discipline and Police Involvement

by Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica, and Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune,

Mothers Behind Book-Banning Campaign Claim Their First Amendment Rights Are Being Violated

by Nicole Carr,

At Liberty University, Veterans’ Complaints Keep Coming

by Alec MacGillis,

New Data Gives Insight Into Ticketing at Five Suburban Chicago School Districts

by Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune and Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica,

The Other Cancel Culture: How a Public University Is Bowing to a Conservative Crusade

by Daniel Golden and Kirsten Berg,

School Board Candidates Who Criticized the Hiring of a Black DEI Educator Lose Their Elections

by Nicole Carr,

Why the Black Educator Forced Out Over Bogus Critical Race Theory Claims Agreed to Share Her Story

by Nicole Carr,

A Sheriff’s Captain Called Our Investigation an “Entertaining Piece of Fiction.” An Inspector General Disagrees.

by Emily Elena Dugdale, KPCC/LAist,

A Teen Was Ticketed at School for a Theft She Says Didn’t Happen. Years Later, She’s Still Fighting.

by Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune, and Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica,

White Parents Rallied to Chase a Black Educator Out of Town. Then, They Followed Her to the Next One.

by Nicole Carr,

Illinois Will Investigate Possible Civil Rights Violations in Student Ticketing

by Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune, and Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica,

Illinois Will Stop Helping Cities Collect Some School Ticket Debt From Students

by Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica, and Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune,

Black Students in Illinois Are Far More Likely to Be Ticketed by Police for School Behavior Than White Students

by Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune, and Jodi S. Cohen, photography by Armando L. Sanchez, Chicago Tribune, illustrations by Laila Milevski,

Liberty University’s Handling of Sexual Assaults Under Investigation by Department of Education

by Hannah Dreyfus,

The Price Kids Pay: Schools and Police Punish Students With Costly Tickets for Minor Misbehavior

by Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica, and Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune, photography by Armando L. Sanchez, Chicago Tribune, illustrations by Laila Milevski, ProPublica,

Do Police Give Students Tickets in Your Illinois School District?

by Ruth Talbot, ProPublica, Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune, and Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica,

“We’re Going to Be Conservative.” Official Orders Books Removed From Schools, Targeting Titles About Transgender People.

by Jeremy Schwartz, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, and Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News,

A Push to Remove LGBTQ Books in One County Could Signal Rising Partisanship on School Boards

by Jeremy Schwartz, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune,

Baker College Threatens Legal Action Against Former Teacher Who Talked to Reporters

by Anna Clark, ProPublica, and David Jesse, Detroit Free Press,