Local Reporting Network Archive
This School District Is Ground Zero for Harsh Discipline of Native Students in New Mexico
In Gallup-McKinley County Schools, wearing the wrong color shirt can get you written up for “gang-related activity.” Banging on a window is bullying. The district is responsible for most of New Mexico’s disproportionate expulsions of Native students.
How We Found the School District Responsible for Much of New Mexico’s Outsized Discipline of Native Students
New Mexico does not publish public school discipline data. When we looked at it, we found that Native American students in the state were disciplined more than their white peers.
Toxic Salmon Reporting “Deeply Troubling,” Lawmaker Says, Demanding Changes to Protect Pacific Northwest Tribal Health
Citing a ProPublica and Oregon Public Broadcasting investigation into toxic contamination in salmon, state and federal lawmakers across the Pacific Northwest are calling for policy changes and more funding but are lacking details on next steps.
Behind the Key Decision That Left Many Poor Homeowners Without Enough Money to Rebuild After Katrina
National politics spawned a Hurricane Katrina rebuilding program based on pre-storm home values, leading to disparities between rich and poor.
Washington State Proposes Reforms for Special Education Schools
Education officials cite Seattle Times/ProPublica investigation that showed state failed to address complaints about abuse, lack of academics.
An Exodus Unlike Any Other: Why Half the People in This Community Moved Away After Hurricane Katrina
After Hurricane Katrina devastated St. Bernard Parish, many residents didn’t receive enough money from the state to rebuild. Nearly half made the difficult decision to start over somewhere else.
The Federal Program to Rebuild After Hurricane Katrina Shortchanged the Poor. New Data Proves It.
For years, low-income residents of New Orleans have said the state’s Road Home program paid them less to rebuild their homes compared to wealthier residents. They were right.
The Balancing Act of Reporting on Vulnerable Kids While Protecting Their Privacy
Journalists are often expected to identify their sources, but reporting on children presents a number of dilemmas, particularly when issues of mental health are involved.
Child Welfare Experts Say New Mexico Can’t Put Kids in Homeless Shelters Just Because It Lacks Other Beds
An experts’ report found that New Mexico’s child welfare system has housed foster kids in homeless shelters and other inappropriate settings, corroborating an investigation by ProPublica and Searchlight New Mexico.
How Title Lending Works
Title lenders in the U.S. often use predatory practices to trap customers in high-interest loans, ProPublica recently reported. This guide will help you understand how title lending works and what your options are if you’re stuck in a contract.
“Kids Seem to Be a Paycheck”: How a Billion-Dollar Corporation Exploits Washington’s Special Education System
Universal Health Services collected more than $38 million in tax dollars for special education services that families and former teachers say it largely didn’t provide.
ProPublica Is Seeking New Applicants for Our Local Reporting Network
We will partner with three more newsrooms on local accountability projects for a year starting in April 2023. The deadline to apply is Feb. 1.
At Washington State Special Education Schools, Years of Abuse Complaints and Lack of Academics
Northwest SOIL promised to help students with serious disabilities. But when school districts urged action, the state let the private school stay open and receive millions in tax dollars.
The Military Pledged to Remove Unexploded Bombs From This Island. Native Hawaiians Are Still Waiting.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is leading the remediation effort, has been plagued by shoddy work and multiple regulatory disputes, according to an investigation by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and ProPublica.
“I Don’t Know Where I’m Going to Go”: HUD Displaces Even More Residents in This Small City
HUD already closed four public housing complexes in the Cairo, Ill., area. Now the federal agency is set to demolish a high-rise, gutting the city of some of its last affordable housing.
The U.S. Promised Tribes They Would Always Have Fish, but the Fish They Have Pose Toxic Risks
For decades, the U.S. government has failed to test for chemicals and metals in fish. So, we did. What we found was alarming for tribes.
What the Disability Community Told Us About Sheltered Workshops
Reporter Madison Hopkins tells us how she learned the context behind what she was hearing from Missouri’s disabled workers and their families.
Complaint Filed Against Mississippi Judge for Failing to Hand Over Search Warrants to Clerk
The judge has signed a number of no-knock search warrants that have been challenged in court, but they weren’t on file at the clerk’s office.
Michigan’s Largest Utility Wants a Rate Hike as It Disconnects a High Number of Customers for Nonpayment
DTE Energy has cut off power to customers more times in 2022 than in any nine-month period since the state began tracking shut-offs.
Public Schools Are NYC’s Main Youth Mental Health System. Where Kids Land Often Depends on What Their Parents Can Pay.
Most kids labeled as having an “emotional disability” and shunted into public special education schools are Black or Latino, and low income — while wealthier families more often access a taxpayer-funded free private education.
