Education
Inside Our Schools
Education Department “Lifting the Pause” on Some Civil Rights Probes, but Not for Race or Gender Cases
A memo to the department’s Office for Civil Rights reveals that the agency will allow “only disability-based discrimination” cases to proceed. Thousands of outstanding complaints will continue to sit idle.
“We’ve Been Essentially Muzzled”: Department of Education Halts Thousands of Civil Rights Investigations Under Trump
Since Inauguration Day, the Office for Civil Rights has only opened about 20 investigations focused on Trump’s priorities, placing more than 10,000 student complaints related to disability access and sexual and racial harassment on hold.
Idaho Passed $2 Billion in Funding for School Building Repairs. It’s Not Nearly Enough.
A new cost estimate and early reports from districts receiving state funds show that small districts are still struggling to meet their most dire needs, forcing them to turn to voters to approve additional funds.
Local Reporting Network
Elon Musk’s Team Decimates Education Department Arm That Tracks National School Performance
The Trump administration canceled $900 million in contracts overseen by the Institute of Education Sciences, which partners with scientists and education companies to compile and make public data about schools each year.
Featured Reporters
Impact of Our Reporting
A New Mexico District Says It’s Reduced Harsh Discipline of Native Students. But the Data Provided Is Incomplete.
Following an investigation by New Mexico In Depth and ProPublica, Gallup-McKinley County says it cut down on long-term suspensions for Indigenous children and implemented policy reforms. But the state has not made it easy to verify these claims.
Local Reporting Network
Hoping to “Trump Proof” Students’ Civil Rights, Illinois Lawmakers Aim to End Police Ticketing at School
The latest version of a bill spurred by a 2022 ProPublica-Chicago Tribune investigation would explicitly prevent police from ticketing students for violations such as vaping or truancy, and require districts to track and disclose police activity.
Feds Fine Baker College $2.5 Million for Deceptive Marketing That Left Students With Debts and Regrets
A 2022 investigation detailed how the once-growing Michigan school built its reputation on slick advertising despite low graduation rates and leaving many students burdened with heavy debt.
Series
Series: Crackdown on Student Threats: Tennessee’s Harsh Punishment of Kids
Series: School Wars: How Battles Over Vouchers, Book Bans, COVID-19 and More Are Harming Public Education
Series: Segregation Academies: Decades After Desegregation, Private Schools Still Divide
Series: Inside Shrub Oak: An Unregulated Boarding School for Autistic Students
Series: State of Disrepair: Inside Idaho’s Crumbling Schools
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
