Jennifer Smith Richards, Reporter — ProPublica
I pursue stories about abuses of power — often focusing on schools and education — and stories about private businesses throughout the Midwest.| ProPublica
I pursue stories about abuses of power — often focusing on schools and education — and stories about private businesses throughout the Midwest.| ProPublica
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.| ProPublica
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.| ProPublica
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.| ProPublica
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.| ProPublica
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.| ProPublica
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.| ProPublica
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.| ProPublica
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.| ProPublica
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
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.| ProPublica
Illinois law bans schools from fining students. But police routinely issue tickets to children for minor misbehavior at school, burdening families with financial penalties.| ProPublica
ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.| ProPublica
