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.
Local Reporting Network
“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.
Local Reporting Network
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.
Local Reporting Network
Washington State Budgets $1.6 Million for Study and Removal of Toxic Lights
Responding to a Seattle Times and ProPublica investigation, state lawmakers set aside funds after fluorescent lights leaked PCBs at a Seattle-area school for several years. But legislators say it’s only a first step.
Local Reporting Network
School District Where Toxic Chemicals Lingered for Years Offers $34 Million Settlement to Families
The settlement would go to nearly 200 students and parents at a Seattle-area school where PCBs are still being cleaned up eight years after they were discovered.
Local Reporting Network
Toxic PCBs Festered at This Public School for Eight Years as Students and Teachers Grew Sicker
The EPA and others warned about potential contamination as far back as 2014. But Washington state law does not require schools or health departments to act on those findings.
Local Reporting Network
“A Complete Failure of the State”: Authorities Didn’t Heed Researchers’ Calls to Study Health Effects of Burning Sugar Cane
Health officials in Florida’s sugar belt failed to act on recommendations to study the health impact of cane burning, despite decades of internal research and complaints from residents.
Local Reporting Network
We Reported on Pollution From Sugar Cane Burning. Now Federal Lawmakers Want the EPA to Take Action.
Leading members of Congress have called for the EPA to investigate air monitoring in Florida and to change national pollution standards.
Local Reporting Network
Hay humo todos los años. Las compañías azucareras dicen que el aire es saludable.
Para cosechar más de la mitad de la caña de azúcar de Estados Unidos, empresas multimillonarias prenden fuego a los cañaverales, una práctica para ahorrar dinero que está prohibida por otros países. Algunos residentes dicen que les cuesta respirar, así que comenzamos a estudiar la calidad del aire.
Local Reporting Network
The Smoke Comes Every Year. Sugar Companies Say the Air Is Safe.
To harvest more than half of America’s cane sugar, billion-dollar companies set fire to fields, a money-saving practice that’s being banned by other countries.
Local Reporting Network