Skip to content
ProPublica Donate
ProPublica Donate

Education

Inside Our Schools

280 stories published since 2015

An Experiment to Fight Pandemic-Era Learning Loss Launches in Richmond

by Alec MacGillis,

Years After Being Ticketed at School for a Theft She Said Never Happened, Former Student Prevails in Court

by Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards,

“We’re Huge in Learning Loss!” Cashing in on the Post-Pandemic Education Crisis.

by Alec MacGillis,

How School Board Meetings Became Flashpoints for Anger and Chaos Across the Country

by Nicole Carr and Lucas Waldron,

How Parents Outraged by Library Books, Diversity Initiatives and Sex Ed Transformed One New Jersey School Board

by Nicole Carr,

Illinois Officials Will Try a Second Time to Make Good on Pledge to Reform Student Ticketing

by Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards,

Baker College Faces Federal Investigation Over “Recruitment and Marketing Practices”

by Anna Clark,

Can America’s Students Recover What They Lost During the Pandemic?

by Alec MacGillis,

New York Charter Schools Write Their Own Rules for When to Call 911 on Students Having a Mental Health Crisis

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY; Photography by Sarah Blesener for ProPublica,

He Became Convinced the School Board Was Pushing “Transgender Bullshit.” He Ended Up Arrested — and Emboldened.

by Nicole Carr,

The Newest College Admissions Ploy: Paying to Make Your Teen a “Peer-Reviewed” Author

by Daniel Golden, ProPublica, and Kunal Purohit,

The Student Protesters Were Arrested. The Man Who Got Violent in the Parking Lot Wasn’t.

by Nicole Carr; Photography by Terra Fondriest for ProPublica,

NYC Schools Handcuff and Haul Away Kids in Emotional Crisis

by Abigail Kramer, THE CITY, photography by Sarah Blesener for ProPublica,

Washington State Legislature Strengthens Oversight of Private Special Education Schools

by Lulu Ramadan and Mike Reicher, The Seattle Times,

Techos colapsados, baños sin servicio, salones inundados: dentro de las escuelas peor financiadas del país

por Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, fotografía por Sarah A. Miller, Idaho Statesman,

Many chairs stacked in a dark, unfinished space with puddles of water on the bare concrete floor.

Ayúdenos a informar sobre las deterioradas escuelas públicas de Idaho

por Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, y Asia Fields, ProPublica,

Many chairs stacked in a dark, unfinished space with puddles of water on the bare concrete floor.

Idaho: Help Us Show Readers and Officials Issues With Your School Building

by Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, and Asia Fields, ProPublica,

Collapsing Roofs, Broken Toilets, Flooded Classrooms: Inside the Worst-Funded Schools in the Nation

by Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, photography by Sarah A. Miller, Idaho Statesman,

A Chicago Suburb Stopped Ticketing Students. But It Won’t Stop Pursuing a 3-Year-Old Case Over Missing AirPods.

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

Have a Student in New Mexico Schools? Here Is What to Know About How School Discipline Works.

by Asia Fields,

The Federal Government Is Investigating an Illinois School Where Students With Disabilities Were Frequently Arrested

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

New Bill Could End Police Ticketing in Illinois Schools

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

School District Pays Legal Fees After Banning Mothers From Reading Sexually Graphic Passages at Meetings

by Nicole Carr,

How One Mom Fought Washington’s Special Education System — and Won

by Lulu Ramadan and Mike Reicher, The Seattle Times,

Gallup School Superintendent Says Changing a Label Explains Away Its Harsh Native Student Discipline. It Doesn’t.

by Marjorie Childress, New Mexico In Depth, and Steve Myers, ProPublica,

Judge Orders Washington State Private Special Education School to Turn Over Records

by Lulu Ramadan, The Seattle Times,

Washington State Launches Investigation of Private Special Education Schools

by Mike Reicher and Lulu Ramadan, The Seattle Times,

A School Superintendent Says Our Story About Expulsions in His District Is Incorrect. Here’s Why He’s Wrong.

by Bryant Furlow, New Mexico In Depth,

Muzzled by DeSantis, Critical Race Theory Professors Cancel Courses or Modify Their Teaching

by Daniel Golden,

America’s Adult Education System Is Broken. Here’s How Experts Say We Can Fix It.

by Annie Waldman, Aliyya Swaby and Anna Clark,

This School District Is Ground Zero for Harsh Discipline of Native Students in New Mexico

by Bryant Furlow, New Mexico In Depth, with additional reporting by Asia Fields, Maya Miller and Joel Jacobs, ProPublica,

How We Found the School District Responsible for Much of New Mexico’s Outsized Discipline of Native Students

by Joel Jacobs, ProPublica, and Bryant Furlow, New Mexico In Depth,

The School That Calls the Police on Students Every Other Day

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

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,

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

Photo of Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Photo of Andy Kroll
Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

Photo of Jesse Coburn
Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network to stay in touch.

Most Read

    The USDA Wouldn’t Let Her Give Up Her House When She Couldn’t Pay Her Mortgage. Instead, It Crushed Her With Debt.

    The USDA failed to follow its own guidance for a rural mortgage program, taking years to foreclose on delinquent loans. As a result, 55 Maine borrowers racked up, on average, $110,000 in additional debt before the agency moved to take the homes.

    by Sawyer Loftus, Bangor Daily News,

    Local Reporting Network

    He Came to the U.S. to Support His Sick Child. He Was Detained. Then He Disappeared.

    Like most of the more than 230 Venezuelan men deported to a Salvadoran prison, José Manuel Ramos Bastidas had followed U.S. immigration rules. Then Trump rewrote them.

    by Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica; Perla Trevizo, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune; Mica Rosenberg and Jeff Ernsthausen, ProPublica; Ronna Rísquez, Alianza Rebelde Investiga; and Adrián González, Cazadores de Fake News,

    The Most Interesting Email I Ever Received: Remembering the Incredible Life of DIY Geneticist Jill Viles

    In 2013, ProPublica reporter David Epstein was contacted by a woman with a wild story and a batch of photos she believed were clues to the mystery of her condition. Turns out, she was right.

    by David Epstein,

    Trump Administration Prepares to Drop Seven Major Housing Discrimination Cases

    Federal housing officials spent years investigating cities from Chicago to Memphis to Corpus Christi for putting industrial plants and unwanted facilities in poor, nonwhite neighborhoods. Now, under Trump, the agency plans to drop the cases.

    by Jesse Coburn,

    RFK Jr. Wants to Change a Program That Stopped Vaccine Makers From Leaving the U.S. Market. They Could Flee Again.

    The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program stabilizes the nation’s childhood immunization system while paying those harmed by rare side effects. If the program topples, it could threaten access to vaccines.

    by Patricia Callahan,