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Education

Inside Our Schools

247 stories published since 2015

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,

Toxic PCBs Festered at This Public School for Eight Years as Students and Teachers Grew Sicker

by Lulu Ramadan, The Seattle Times,

The Nonprofit College That Spends More on Marketing Than Financial Aid

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

The Federal Government Gave Billions to America’s Schools for COVID-19 Relief. Where Did the Money Go?

by Annie Waldman and Bianca Fortis,

Few Masks. Sick Kids. Packed ERs. How One District’s First Four Weeks of School Went Bad.

by Nicole Carr,

A Boy With an Autoimmune Disease Was Ready to Learn in Person. Then His State Banned Mask Mandates.

by Annie Waldman and Bianca Fortis,

My Kids’ School Won’t Reinstate Masks Despite a Recent Surge in COVID Cases. Here’s What I Chose to Do.

by Nicole Carr,

Held Back: Inside a Lost School Year

by Annie Waldman, ProPublica, photography by Cydni Elledge,

“I Finally Got to the Mountaintop and I Failed”

by Bob Fernandez, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Charlotte Keith, Spotlight PA,

The Bureau of Indian Education Hasn’t Told the Public How Its Schools Are Performing. So We Did It Instead.

by Alden Woods, The Arizona Republic, and Agnel Philip, ProPublica,

How We Analyzed the Performance of Bureau of Indian Education Schools

by Agnel Philip, ProPublica, and Alden Woods, The Arizona Republic,

Illinois Dramatically Limits Use of Seclusion and Face-Down Restraints in Schools

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

America’s Richest School Serves Low-Income Kids. But Much of Its Hershey-Funded Fortune Isn’t Being Spent.

by Bob Fernandez, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Charlotte Keith, Spotlight PA,

Illinois Continued to Seclude and Restrain Students This Year Even Though Many Schools Were Closed

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

Hershey Profits Fund $17 Billion Endowment for Nonprofit School, but Board Member Says It Won’t Let Him See Financial Records

by Bob Fernandez, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Charlotte Keith, Spotlight PA,

New York City Kills COVID Rule That Led to Repeated School Closings Despite No Evidence of Outbreaks

by Eric Umansky,

My Kids’ School Closed Again. So I Started Calling Experts.

by Eric Umansky,

The Lost Year: What the Pandemic Cost Teenagers

by Alec MacGillis, photography by Celeste Sloman for ProPublica,

Bill Banning Locked Seclusion and Face-Down Restraints in Illinois Schools Stalls as Lawmakers Run Out of Time

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

Only Seven of Stanford’s First 5,000 Vaccines Were Designated for Medical Residents

by Caroline Chen,

The Pandemic Hasn’t Stopped This School District From Suing Parents Over Unpaid Textbook Fees

by Ellis Simani, ProPublica, and Kim Kilbride, South Bend Tribune,

A student looks out of a school bus window.

Two School Districts Had Different Mask Policies. Only One Had a Teacher on a Ventilator.

by Annie Waldman and Heather Vogell,

Did You Attend the Milton Hershey School? We're Investigating It. Help Us.

by Bob Fernandez, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Charlotte Keith, Spotlight PA, Beena Raghavendran and Zipporah Osei, ProPublica,

Illinois Will Start Sharing Data About COVID-19 Outbreaks in Schools

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

Illinois Has Had COVID-19 Outbreaks in 44 Schools but Won’t Say Where They’ve Occurred

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

The Federal Government Promised Native American Students Computers and Internet. Many Are Still Waiting.

by Alden Woods, Arizona Republic,

¿Son seguras las escuelas y las universidades en Estados Unidos? ¿Los alumnos realmente aprenden? Ayúdenos a saber más.

por Beena Raghavendran, Caroline Chen, Annie Waldman y Jodi S. Cohen,