Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 10h

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.

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...

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards

ProPublica @propublica.org · 5d

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.

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...

projects.propublica.org

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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 6d

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.

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...

www.propublica.org

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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 22d

ProPublica is powered by investigative journalists. Support our union's effort to protect our workers!

ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 23d

We ❤️ @ire.org! @propublica.org employees wore buttons & flyered at the IRE gala to rally support for our fight for a fair contract.

The future of investigative journalism depends on protecting the workers who make it possible.

You can help by signing our petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...

People wearing union shirts stand outside a red carpet at the entrance of an event as people walk in.

People wearing union shirts and stickers smile and hand out ProPublica Guild buttons.

Five people sit at a table for an event wearing stickers and buttons supporting the ProPublica Guild.

Two people walking into an event wear stickers in support of the ProPublica Guild.

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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 28d

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

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...

www.propublica.org

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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · Aug 27

The Minnesota Star Tribune has a live feed of news updates about the school shooting in Minneapolis. www.startribune.com/minneapolis-...

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.

www.startribune.com

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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · Aug 27

Well, this is a wild ride.

ProPublica @propublica.org · Aug 27

NEW: Trump describes Leo Terrell, head of the antisemitism task force, as a “highly respected” and “incredibly successful” attorney. Documents reveal a distinctly mixed legal track record, marred by malpractice suits and client disputes.

By @peterelkind.bsky.social‬ & Katherine Mangan

The Leader of Trump’s Assault on Higher Education Has a Troubled Legal and Financial History

Leo Terrell’s past is at odds with Trump’s description of an “incredibly successful” attorney. Documents obtained by ProPublica and The Chronicle of Higher Education reveal a trail of legal disputes a...

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards

Melissa Sanchez @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social · Jul 29

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 · Jul 28

Today’s must-read.

Aliyya Swaby @aliyyaswaby.bsky.social · Jul 28

In rural Tennessee, 16 middle schoolers waiting for cheerleading practice to start made a TikTok video seeming to role play a school shooting.

The sheriff's office charged every single one with a crime.

www.propublica.org/article/soci...

Middle School Cheerleaders Made a TikTok Video Portraying a School Shooting. They Were Charged With a Crime.

Social videos, memes and retweets are becoming fodder for criminal charges in an era of heightened responses to student threats. Authorities say harsh punishment is necessary, but experts say the crac...

www.propublica.org

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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · Jul 14

You can also use Signal to contact me at jsmithrichards.93 or reporter @jodiscohen.bsky.social at jodireporter.88. We've been reporting on education for decades and would love to hear from you.

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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · Jul 14

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/...

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...

www.propublica.org

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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · Jun 26

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...

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.

www.propublica.org

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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · Jun 13

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.

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.

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards

ProPublica @propublica.org · May 29

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

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...

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards

Aliyya Swaby @aliyyaswaby.bsky.social · May 27

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 · May 20

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.

ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · May 15

1/4 UPDATE: This week, @propublica.org management informed a third bargaining unit member that they will be placed on a performance improvement plan and denied steward representation at the meeting where it is discussed. Our full statement 👇

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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards

Cengiz Yar @cengizyar.com · May 20

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.

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...

www.propublica.org

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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · May 20

This new story with @jodiscohen.bsky.social explains what we know about the department's silence when it comes to monitoring Garrison School in Illinois. And this is important: The school still calls police to respond to student behavior.

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...

www.propublica.org

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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · May 20

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 · May 5

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.

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...

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards

Jessica Lussenhop @jlussenhop.bsky.social · May 1

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

ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · May 1

Today, we issued a letter — signed by 70% of our unit — to @sengelberg.bsky.social and @robinsparkman.bsky.social asking them to uphold ProPublica’s values of fairness, transparency and accountability at the bargaining table.

Dear Steve and Robin,
Since we unionized in 2023, we have worked hard to reach a contract that honors ProPublica's
mission. In order to fulfill that vision, our values of fairness, transparency and accountability
must apply not only to our reporting but also to our workplace.
Our proposals have sought basic contractual rights that align with those values and exist at
many other unionized newsrooms.
Instead of working with us to codify those rights, you have struck through many of our
proposals, called for broad carve outs and delayed discussion of key provisions such as
protections against layoffs and overwork. Those tactics are not in line with the ProPublica you
say you want to build.
In recent months:
● You have refused to allow stewards in performance meetings that could lead to
discipline.
● You have resisted attempts to reform our disciplinary system, rejecting a standard
approach to just cause and measures to improve transparency and clarity.
● You rejected our proposal that would ensure our jobs will not be replaced by artificial
intelligence.
What we are seeking is simple: ProPublica management must uphold its values in its own
workplace. We expect that your proposals going forward will reflect these shared values.
Sincerely,
ProPublica Guild

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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · Apr 11

Withholding federal funding for schools is not a common tactic, but this administration is threatening it for many schools/states that don't wipe out diversity and equity efforts or enforce policies against transgender girls.

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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · Apr 11

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.)

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.

www.bangordailynews.com

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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards

Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · Apr 4

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...

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...

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Jennifer Smith Richards

Anna Clark @annaleighclark.bsky.social · Apr 1

“You don’t erase that history to save somebody a little embarrassment.”

By @stevemmills.bsky.social / @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...

www.propublica.org

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