Jennifer Smith Richards

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

[Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards]

Illinois law bans schools from fining students as discipline. So police have been doing it for them. @Jodiscohen and I explain how kids have been punished with thousands of tickets in 3 years for school fights, profanity and other teenage behavior. https://t.co/SdqcyVcOUV

[Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards]

Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump w/@MegsNewz and @Jodiscohen
https://t.co/wYvFXAH7mL

[Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards]

HECK YES! Glad to see this, and solidarity with my former newsroom.

[Dispatch News Guild @dispatchguild]

It’s a huge day for the journalists of The Columbus Dispatch and The Newark Advocate. Here’s why we are unionizing.

https://t.co/7oQzZoptEF

[Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards]

I'll add that we're very much still following what's happening with OCR: https://t.co/cvQsqlCuBR

[Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards]

Some functions of the U.S. Department of Education will move to other federal agencies, @cbinkley reports. That would outsource managing funding streams for K-12 schools and colleges to the Department of Labor. (No news on the Office for Civil Rights yet.) https://t.co/Mj5tt4e88Y

[George W. Papajohn @GeorgeWPapajohn]

Canary on the prairie?

Oklahoma looks to be the lab where Christianity & patriotism mix to create something that doesn't look like a separation of church and state — or convey a conventional rendering of history.

Deep reporting by @jsmithrichards.

https://t.co/rJdGZh69Xh

[ProPublica @propublica]

Educators & parents:
• Are public schools in your area losing funding or changing curriculum?
• Are low-income, ESL or disabled students losing access to programs?
• Are more families in your area sending students to private schools?

Help us report ⬇️
https://t.co/pFoDiR8KWn

[Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein]

Five Ways Trump’s Department of Education Is Upending Public Schools https://t.co/J9ImKqNVxQ @MegsNewz @jsmithrichards

[Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards]

Linda McMahon's "final mission?" It's not only to shut down the U.S. Department of Education. It's to dismantle the public school system as we know it. w/@MegsNewz https://t.co/fLuXZ8e4Ew

[Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards]

The ex-Chicago cop who got out of dozens of tickets by repeating a bogus story — that his girlfriend stole his BMW — pleaded guilty.

But there’s more: @Jodiscohen and I tracked pending court cases based on his policing.

More than 90 have been dropped.

https://t.co/9nb1jiVRCF

[Steve Mills @smmills1960]

NEW: The Trump administration is going after funding for students who are both deaf and blind. Said one advocate: "How low can you go?" An important story by the reporting team of @Jodiscohen and @jsmithrichards of @propublica.

https://t.co/bfSEm0Tnw2

[Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards]

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 this fight, for reference. https://t.co/KK5AgGOenT

[Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein]

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. https://t.co/hH5IZtM97X @MilaKoumpilova @jsmithrichards w/ @chalkbeatCHI

[Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards]

An update, three years after this investigation published: the Illinois legislature passed a bill to end police ticketing of students at school.

https://t.co/GX7OAbcflS

[Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards]

Illinois law bans schools from fining students as discipline. So police have been doing it for them. @Jodiscohen and I explain how kids have been punished with thousands of tickets in 3 years for school fights, profanity and other teenage behavior. https://t.co/SdqcyVcOUV

[George W. Papajohn @GeorgeWPapajohn]

"Embarrassing"

"Tragedy"

"Tipping point"

"Waste of time and money"

Disheartening quotes run thru this story by @HeatherCherone @VernalColeman.

In sum: Chicago police consent decree has been an embarrassing waste of money, a tragedy in the making.

https://t.co/mGJnIYX2XA

[Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein]

NEW: Private schools across the South that were established for white children during desegregation are now benefiting from tens of millions in taxpayer dollars flowing from rapidly expanding voucher-style programs, a @propublica analysis found.

https://t.co/vXmUGxPWBU

[Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards]

Six. Years. These fine journalists held strong, stuck together, and stood tall against Alden to win a contract. Kudos to my friends.

[Chicago Tribune Guild @CTGuild]

FINALLY: After six years, we at the Chicago Tribune Guild have won our first contract.

We are so proud of what we ratified today with near unanimous support: raises, bonuses, salary minimums, AI protections, seniority rights & more. How did we get this done? (1/7)

[George W. Papajohn @GeorgeWPapajohn]

The bunny wasn't a bomb.

And the threat wasn't credible.

Still this kid was handcuffed.

Important story from @AliyyaSwaby & @PaigePfleger.

A 13-Year-Old With Autism Was Arrested Under Tennessee’s School Threats Law https://t.co/Qaym1zxakn

[Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards]

Co-sign. I'm also on Signal.

[ProPublica @propublica]

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Sign up to be a source for our reporters. We may contact you with questions related to your area of experience.

Your insights will be incredibly important to our work post-election. https://t.co/gsR4w736e9

[ProPublica @propublica]

It’s Election Day! ProPublica reporters live & work in 26 states. Today, our reporters are on the ground, on the lookout for what’s going right and what isn’t. Got a tip? Contact us at https://t.co/PSJukzrLS8.

You can also text, call or Signal message us:
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[Byard Duncan @ByardDuncan]

This story from @msanchezMIA and @mrym_jml should be required reading for every U.S. voter.

It's a rigorously reported, tender and ultimately heartbreaking look at what immigration REALLY is all about. I can't recommend it strongly enough.

https://t.co/esOrzlxErP