Jennifer Smith Richards is a reporter for ProPublica. She began her journalism career writing obituaries in West Virginia, then covering small-town southern Ohio. She wrote about schools and education at newspapers in Huntington, West Virginia; Utica, New York; Savannah, Georgia, and Columbus, Ohio. She most recently worked for the Chicago Tribune, where her work exposed student ticketing at school, abusive educators, government misspending, sexual abuse in schools, lapses in police accountability and the mistreatment of students with disabilities. Her stories have prompted new state laws, the prosecution of school officials and the creation of child-protection units in school districts and state education departments.
Jennifer is a graduate of Ohio University and lives in Chicago.
Despite the attorney general’s declaration that Illinois schools should stop using police to discipline students, officers statewide continue to ticket kids with costly fines. One lawmaker will again pursue legislation to end the practice.
ProPublica has traced these mass-mailed newspapers to a “pink slime” network known for misinformation and its financial ties to right-wing super PACs and billionaires.
A retired gas industry executive, a shadowy “grassroots” group and a controversial media company are spreading misinformation while turning residents against a proposed solar farm — and each other.
Following a ProPublica-Chicago Tribune investigation, the Garrison School in Illinois will change its disciplinary practices and provide services to those who missed class due to being arrested or sent to a seclusion room.
Washington education officials have told public districts in the state not to send new students to Shrub Oak International School in New York, citing ProPublica’s reporting and a visit to the campus.
Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen are based in Chicago and cover the Midwest. But when they looked into where vulnerable Illinois students wound up, they found themselves at an unregulated, for-profit school in New York.
After visiting Shrub Oak International School, officials from Connecticut, Washington and Massachusetts have advised districts of troubling conditions at the school where a ProPublica investigation uncovered reports of abuse and neglect.
Two civil rights groups are asking the U.S. Department of Education to force Rockford Public Schools, the third-largest district in Illinois, to stop discriminatory discipline involving police.
A state judge ruled that the agency must cooperate in a disability rights investigation into Shrub Oak International School. A ProPublica investigation found that would-be whistleblowers could not get state authorities to intervene at the school.
It took four years and a jury trial for Amara Harris to beat the ticket that accused her of stealing another girl’s AirPods. Now she’s heading back to court in the hope of stopping schools from using police to discipline students.
A state law was meant to help families by allowing the use of public money to fund students’ tuition at special education boarding schools around the country. But in solving one problem, lawmakers created another.
No state agency has authority over Shrub Oak, one of the country's most expensive therapeutic boarding schools. As a result, parents and staff have nowhere to report bruised students and medication mix-ups.
ProPublica is building a network of educators, students, parents and other experts to help guide our reporting about education. Take a few minutes to join our source network and share what you know.
Former Chicago officer Jeffrey Kriv faces charges for perjury and forgery after getting out of dozens of traffic violations by claiming his girlfriend had stolen his car. Now, cases that stem from arrests Kriv made are in jeopardy.
Amara Harris declined plea deals and ultimately won a legal fight that dates back to 2019. Now she and her attorneys want to push for statewide reforms.
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.
Chicago police officer Jeffrey Kriv used the same alibi to contest dozens of traffic tickets over the years. A deeper look at his career sheds light on Chicago’s troubled history of police accountability.
The civil rights inquiry by the Department of Education follows a ProPublica and Chicago Tribune investigation that found the school regularly called police to arrest students.
Students have continued to get costly citations for vaping, fighting and other misbehavior even after state officials directed educators to end the practice.
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