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Jennifer Smith Richards

@jsmithrichards.bsky.social
13K followers 1.6K following 84 posts

Investigations in the Midwest at ProPublica. Past: Chicago Tribune by way of OH/GA/NY/WV. Enthusiastic about FOIA + data. Tell me everything.

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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
ProPublica @propublica.org · 26/07/2026
Private schools in Arkansas operate with little transparency. They don’t have to turn over incident reports or video to the public. After a parent reported abuse at one such school to the police, our reporter @jsmithrichards.bsky.social started to piece together what happened.
propublica.org
How Videos Helped Me Uncover Abuse at an Arkansas Private School
Mary “Tracy” Morrison ordered students to scrub floors and urged them to attack a classmate. Few records exist of incidents at The Delta Institute for the Developing Brain, a private school with littl...
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
ProPublica @propublica.org · 24/07/2026
NEW: The owner of a private school in Arkansas ordered students to scrub floors and urged them to attack a classmate. Few records exist of the incident. Reporter @jsmithrichards.bsky.social pieced together what happened.
propublica.org
How Videos Helped Me Uncover Abuse at an Arkansas Private School
Mary “Tracy” Morrison ordered students to scrub floors and urged them to attack a classmate. Few records exist of incidents at The Delta Institute for the Developing Brain, a private school with littl...
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
A woman who sexually abused a minor. Boxer Mike Tyson, who served time for rape. Both of these people launched private schools that collected public money. As the voucher system grows more popular, few states have guardrails in place. Read this wild story from me & my brilliant colleagues.
propublica.org
Public Money Is Fueling an Explosion of Private Schools. States Often Don’t Care How They’re Run.
As private schools proliferate, states are choosing a hands-off approach to regulating them. The backgrounds of school founders — sometimes with criminal histories — often don’t matter
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
“Most people don’t think you’re a nice kid," the owner of an Arkansas private school told a boy before urging other students to take turns attacking him. She repeatedly thwacked him with a footlong plastic cylinder, calling him a liar.
propublica.org
This Private School Had Students Scrub Floors and Attack a Fellow Classmate. The State Still Funds It.
One of the few requirements for Arkansas private schools is that they have an American flag and a flagpole. But millions in state funds go to the largely unmonitored schools while complaints about saf...
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
I am telling you, you have to read this story. It is absurd. It is bizarre. Twists and turns! Molly Parker is a great storyteller.
propublica.org
3D-Printed Homes, an Abandoned $590,000 Deposit, the FBI: What Really Happened in This Small Town?
Two men promised a $1.1 million 3D printer could fix Cairo, Illinois’ housing crisis. More than a year later, the one duplex it printed still isn’t finished. And the more we asked questions, the weird...
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 08/04/2026
We’re on strike today! Support our fight for a fair contract by NOT visiting the @propublica.org website or engaging with ProPublica stories today. Tell ProPublica’s management you won’t cross the picket line: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
We're on strike! Don't visit propublica.org on April 8
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
So glad to work in a newsroom that's willing to fight against disappearing data. ProPublica Sues Education Department for Withholding Records About Discrimination in Schools, by @jsmithrichards.bsky.social @jodiscohen.bsky.social
propublica.org
ProPublica Sues Education Department for Withholding Records About Discrimination in Schools
Under Secretary Linda McMahon, the work of the Office for Civil Rights, which aims to protect students from discrimination, is cloaked in secrecy.
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Last night, @repbonamici.bsky.social and 70 other House members sent a letter to Linda McMahon and Kimberly Richey, the head of the Office for Civil Rights, urging them to address the backlog of discrimination complaints. "We are deeply troubled by these reports, and so is the public," it said.
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
This is the best video explanation I have seen on how the Trump administration is changing public education as we know it. A must-watch for anyone who cares about schools. by @nadiasussman.bsky.social
propublica.org
Vouchers, Patriotism and Prayer: The Trump Administration’s Plan to Remake Public Education
Education Secretary Linda McMahon is bringing about a new era in education — and perhaps the end of public schools as we know them.
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
ICYMI: Racial harassment of Black students ignored under Trump, by @jsmithrichards.bsky.social @megomatz.bsky.social @jodiscohen.bsky.social
propublica.org
Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump
Since Trump returned to office, the Education Department’s civil rights office has not resolved a single racial harassment investigation. It sends a message that “people impacted by racial discriminat...
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Cases of Black students being called the N-word, taunted by classmates saying "white power" are being ignored by the Trump administration. @megomatz.bsky.social, @jodiscohen.bsky.social and I found the Ed Dept has not acted on any racial harassment cases since Jan. 21 to hold districts accountable.
propublica.org
Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump
Since Trump returned to office, the Education Department’s civil rights office has not resolved a single racial harassment investigation. It sends a message that “people impacted by racial discriminat...
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
This is a blow to the conservative effort to embed Christian teachings in state standards in Oklahoma. There have been a number of efforts to push education in the state to the right, which I detailed in this story. It has been a testing ground and remains an interesting state to watch.
propublica.org
This Is Ground Zero in the Conservative Quest for More Patriotic and Christian Public Schools
Oklahoma has spent years reshaping public schools to integrate lessons about Jesus and encourage pride in America’s history. By the time the second Trump administration began espousing its “America Fi...
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
The Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down the controversial state social studies standards -- but not because of the many Biblical references and skepticism about the 2020 election and origins of Covid-19. The court ruled the state board of ed violated the Open Meetings Act. Nondoc explains here.
nondoc.com
OK Supreme Court strikes 2025 social studies standards for violating Open Meeting Act
The Oklahoma Supreme Court stuck down the revised 2025 social studies standards, finding their approval violated the Open Meetings Act.
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Huge day for the Columbus Dispatch, where I worked for more than a decade. Glad to support them!
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
I should add that we're still very much reporting on what's happening with civil rights in schools: www.propublica.org/getinvolved/...
propublica.org
Help Us Report on How the Department of Education Is Handling Civil Rights Cases
Have you recently filed a civil rights complaint or do you have a pending case? We need your help to get a full picture of how the dismantling of the Office for Civil Rights is affecting students, par...
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Linda McMahon plans to move some functions of the U.S. Department of Education to other federal agencies. That would outsource two big roles -- managing funding streams for K-12 schools and colleges -- to the Department of Labor. (No announcement on the Office for Civil Rights yet.)
apnews.com
Education Department offloads some work to other agencies as Trump presses for its closure
The U.S. Education Department is handing off some of its biggest grant programs to other federal agencies as the Trump administration accelerates its plan to shut down the department.
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
ProPublica @propublica.org · 29/10/2025
“You starve your public schools to feed your private schools and charter schools,” said one superintendent about Oklahoma's efforts to grow charter schools. “Our foundation was set up for a free and appropriate education for all kids. All kids!” By @jsmithrichards.bsky.social
propublica.org
Oklahoma Is Ground Zero in Trump’s “America First” Education Push
Oklahoma has spent years reshaping public schools to integrate lessons about Jesus and encourage pride in America’s history. By the time the second Trump administration began espousing its “America Fi...
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
Jessica Lussenhop @jlussenhop.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
Although this story focuses on the education system in Oklahoma, my brilliant colleague @jsmithrichards.bsky.social makes it plain that this is a vision for education, a blueprint really, for the entire country: www.propublica.org/article/trum...
propublica.org
This Is Ground Zero in the Conservative Quest for More Patriotic and Christian Public Schools
Oklahoma has spent years reshaping public schools to integrate lessons about Jesus and encourage pride in America’s history. By the time the second Trump administration began espousing its “America Fi...
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
ProPublica @propublica.org · 12/10/2025
Current and former Department of Education employees: We want to hear from you. Use Signal to contact our reporters @jsmithrichards.bsky.social at jsmithrichards.93, @jodiscohen.bsky.social at jodireporter.88 or @megomatz.bsky.social at 414-207-6225.
propublica.org
Help ProPublica Report on Education
ProPublica needs your help to track how the upheaval of public education is affecting schools and colleges in your community. Take a few minutes to join our source network and help guide our coverage.
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
Some immigrants have tried to self-deport using a Trump-promoted app. Many are still here, despite the government giving them departure dates and promises of safe travel. @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social and @mariamelba.bsky.social have a deeply reported, riveting account of people stranded in America.
propublica.org
“I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore”: They Tried to Self-Deport, Then Got Stranded in Trump’s America
Venezuelan immigrants signed up for a Trump-promoted app called CBP Home, which promised a safe and easy way to leave the country, and prepared to leave on their given departure dates. Those dates hav...
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
Five Ways Trump’s Department of Education Is Upending Public Schools, by @megomatz.bsky.social @jsmithrichards.bsky.social
propublica.org
Five Ways the Department of Education Is Upending Public Schools
The Trump administration has made a rapid succession of hires and decisions at the Department of Education that could spur profound changes in how schools operate and children learn. Here’s what to kn...
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
To understand the Trump administration’s vision for American education, @megomatz.bsky.social and I studied dozens of hours of political appointees’ speeches and podcasts and essays. What emerged is a desire to dismantle the nation’s system of public schools.
propublica.org
These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.
Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of publ...
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Education Secretary Linda McMahon says she's leading the department's "final mission" to shut down. But @megomatz.bsky.social and I found it's more than that: Political appointees from ultraconservative groups are in power at ED now, and they hope to dismantle public schools.
propublica.org
These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.
Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of publ...
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
ProPublica @propublica.org · 03/10/2025
NEW: ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the Trump administration’s cuts to an aid program.
projects.propublica.org
Trump Canceled 94 Million Pounds of Food Aid. Here’s What Never Arrived.
ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the administration’s cut...
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
The ex-Chicago cop who got out of dozens of traffic tickets by repeating the same bogus story — that his girlfriend stole his BMW — pleaded guilty. But there’s more: @jodiscohen.bsky.social and I have been tracking pending court cases that relied on his policing. More than 90 have been dropped.
propublica.org
Chicago Cop Who Falsely Blamed an Ex-Girlfriend for Dozens of Traffic Tickets Pleads Guilty but Avoids Prison
Retired officer Jeffrey Kriv acknowledged repeatedly lying under oath to avoid paying dozens of speeding and other traffic tickets. Prosecutors have dropped at least 92 cases in which Kriv was a key w...
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
ProPublica is powered by investigative journalists. Support our union's effort to protect our workers!
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
NEW: The Trump administration stripped funding from programs that serve deafblind students in 8 states. Programs' years-old grant applications mentioned diversity, inclusion, and in WI, transition. As in, transitioning from childhood to adulthood. w/ @jodiscohen.bsky.social
propublica.org
Programs for Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Harmed by Trump’s Anti-Diversity Push
Citing concerns about DEI, the U.S. Department of Education has halted funding for programs that support students with combined hearing and vision loss in eight states. “How low can you go?” one advoc...
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
The Minnesota Star Tribune has a live feed of news updates about the school shooting in Minneapolis. www.startribune.com/minneapolis-...
startribune.com
Live: Two children and gunman dead after shooting at Minneapolis church, law enforcement source says
Mayor Jacob Frey said he was ‘monitoring reports of horrific violence’ in south Minneapolis. A massive police presence was at the scene.
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Well, this is a wild ride.
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
Melissa Sanchez @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
1/ Early on in President Trump’s second term, I spent a few weeks observing Chicago’s immigration court to get a sense of how things were changing. One afternoon in March, the case of a 27-year-old Venezuelan asylum-seeker caught my attention. I want to tell you his story 👇
Albert Rodríguez Parra, a young Venezuelan man wearing a white printed shirt and a cross, stands in front of a bush with red flowers.
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Today’s must-read.
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Education Dept. can carry out mass firings it began in March. So I'm here to remind you that we're continuing to report on changes at ED, including to its civil rights division. If you have been affected, we're listening: www.propublica.org/getinvolved/...
propublica.org
Help Us Report on How the Department of Education Is Handling Civil Rights Cases
Have you recently filed a civil rights complaint or do you have a pending case? We need your help to get a full picture of how the dismantling of the Office for Civil Rights is affecting students, par...
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
UPDATE: The rural Ohio solar project that fossil fuel interests fought hard against (in part by using the local newspaper) was approved by the state today. Frasier Solar can move forward. Here's our previous story about the fight for reference. www.propublica.org/article/ohio...
propublica.org
Fossil Fuel Interests Are Working to Kill Solar in One Ohio County. The Hometown Newspaper Is Helping.
A retired gas industry executive, a shadowy “grassroots” group and a controversial media company are spreading misinformation while turning residents against a proposed solar farm — and each other.
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Chicago operates 150 schools that are half-empty and another 47 at less than 33% capacity. It's extraordinarily expensive. The most extreme example: Douglass high school has 27 employees for 28 students this year and a per-student cost of $93,000. Story w/ with @chalkbeat.org's Mila Koumpilova.
propublica.org
100 Students in a School Meant for 1,000: Inside Chicago’s Refusal to Deal With Its Nearly Empty Schools
Declining school enrollment has left 30% of Chicago public schools at least half-empty. The city’s failure to address this problem has come at a high cost to the district — and its students.
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
ProPublica @propublica.org · 29/05/2025
NEW: Illinois legislators passed a law to explicitly prevent police from ticketing and fining students for minor misbehavior at school, ending a practice that harmed students across the state. By @jodiscohen.bsky.social & @jsmithrichards.bsky.social
propublica.org
Illinois Lawmakers Ban Police From Ticketing and Fining Students for Minor Infractions in School
The legislation comes after a ProPublica-Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that even though state law bans schools from fining students directly, districts skirt the law by calling on police to i...
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
Aliyya Swaby @aliyyaswaby.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
1/ The day after the Antioch High shooting, Nashville police arrested a 12-year-old for posting a concerning screenshot on Instagram. His school was supposed to figure out if it was a valid threat. Instead, the school expelled him with no further investigation.
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 20/05/2025
Three of our colleagues are being placed on PIPs today and @propublica.org management has refused to allow stewards in those meetings. We're not shutting up about this — our colleagues deserve better and we're extremely disappointed in management for denying us this basic union right.
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
Cengiz Yar @cengizyar.com · 20/05/2025
The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights regional office in Chicago, which was previously monitoring Xander's school for civil rights violations of its disabled students, was one of seven offices abolished by President Donald Trump’s administration in March.
propublica.org
A Teacher Dragged a 6-Year-Old With Autism by His Ankle. Federal Civil Rights Officials Might Not Do Anything.
The Garrison School is part of a special education district that had students arrested at the highest rate in the country. It had pledged to change how it disciplines kids after a ProPublica-Chicago T...
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
The Education Department is supposed to be monitoring this school and how it treats students. This is the video that captured a teacher dragging a student with autism last month after he did not stop playing with blocks to go to P.E.
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
You might be wondering how the Trump administration is shutting the Education Department -- something only Congress can do. Look to ED's Office for Civil Rights for the answer: Render it "useless," then subvert the core mission. This story takes you inside OCR and how students are being harmed.
propublica.org
A Gutted Education Department’s New Agenda: Roll Back Civil Rights Cases, Target Transgender Students
The Trump administration is subverting the traditional priorities of the department’s decimated civil rights office by making discrimination investigations practically impossible — instead enforcing i...
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
Jessica Lussenhop @jlussenhop.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
For May Day, @propublicaguild.bsky.social is sharing an important update about our contract negotiations. I signed this letter because my colleagues are the smartest, best people and we deserve basic job protections like just cause. ProPublica is too great an organization to settle for anything less
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
The Trump administration announced it's pulling Maine's K-12 funding over what the Ed Dept called "an extremist ideological agenda." Maine has not complied with the administration's directive to ban transgender girls from women's sports. (Note: Only two trans girls are competing in Maine this year.)
bangordailynews.com
Trump administration starts process to end all federal K-12 funding to Maine
The announcement came as Maine officials refused to sign a resolution changing the state's policies for transgender athletes.
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Just in time for the Final Four this weekend, here is our investigation into NIL deals at one Big Ten university: @propublica.org @chicagotribune.com www.propublica.org/article/univ...
propublica.org
In An Era of Big Money, the University of Illinois Shrugs Off Rules on Athletes’ NIL Deals
Records show that a fraction of the school’s athletes are complying with a state law requiring them to disclose endorsements. In the wild west of college sports, Illinois’ flagship university says the...
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
Anna Clark @annaleighclark.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
“You don’t erase that history to save somebody a little embarrassment.” By @stevemmills.bsky.social / @propublica.org
propublica.org
The Art Institute of Chicago Returned a Sculpture to Nepal But Obscured Its Connection to a Wealthy Donor
The famed museum recently returned a 12th-century Buddha sculpture that it says was stolen from the Kathmandu Valley. However, the institute’s announcement failed to mention the statue had once belong...
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
ProPublica @propublica.org · 31/03/2025
NEW: You can now send us your tips via SecureDrop, the most secure and anonymous way to share information or files with us electronically. Used properly, it shields your identity even from us. Here’s how to use it: www.propublica.org/tips
propublica.org
How to Contact ProPublica or Send a Tip Securely — ProPublica
Our job is to hold people and institutions accountable. To do that, we need evidence.
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
President Trump said from the Oval Office this morning that the nation's student loan portfolio will move from the Education Department to the Small Business Administration and special education and special education and nutrition will go to the Health and Human Services Department.
nytimes.com
Update from Erica L. Green
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
ProPublica @propublica.org · 18/03/2025
The lawsuit may be the most substantive legal effort to require the Education Department to enforce civil rights since 1970, when the NAACP sued the agency for allowing segregation to continue. By @jsmithrichards.bsky.social & @jodiscohen.bsky.social
propub.li
Parents Sue Trump Administration for Allegedly Sabotaging Education Department’s Civil Rights Division
The lawsuit claims that decimating the agency’s Office for Civil Rights will leave it unable to address issues of discrimination at school — violating the equal protection clause of the Fifth…
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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards
Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
NEW: Emboldened by Trump and the courts, conservative Christian lawmakers are now being open about using legislation to bring school kids to Christ. It’s a shift from even a few years ago, when such convos were often couched in “religious liberty,” etc. It's a "wake up call," said one reverend.
texastribune.org
In Texas, Christian right grows confident and assertive
Emboldened by court rulings and election victories, the Christian right is outspoken as it pushes its moral views through the Texas Legislature.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 14/03/2025
NEW: The class-action lawsuit claims that decimating the agency’s Office for Civil Rights will leave it unable to address issues of discrimination at school — violating the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amendment. By @jsmithrichards.bsky.social and @jodiscohen.bsky.social
propub.li
Parents Sue Trump Administration for Allegedly Sabotaging Education Department’s Civil Rights Division
The class-action lawsuit claims that decimating the agency’s Office for Civil Rights will leave it unable to address issues of discrimination at school — violating the equal protection clause of the F...
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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
BREAKING: A federal lawsuit filed overnight says the Trump administration is sabotaging civil rights enforcement at the U.S. Department of Education. Brought by parents & advocates, the lawsuit says actions and mass firings at OCR violate the Constitution. w/ @jodiscohen.bsky.social
propublica.org
Parents Sue Trump Administration for Allegedly Sabotaging Education Department’s Civil Rights Division
The class-action lawsuit claims that decimating the agency’s Office for Civil Rights will leave it unable to address issues of discrimination at school — violating the equal protection clause of the F...
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