Annie Waldman

Department of Justice Quietly Rolling Back Civil Rights Reforms

Previously unannounced directives will limit the Department of Justice’s use of a storied civil rights enforcement tool, and loosen the Department of Education’s requirements on investigations.

June 15th, 2017

By Jessica Huseman and
Annie Waldman

Department of Justice Quietly Rolling Back Civil Rights Reforms

For decades, the Department of Justice has used court-enforced agreements to protect civil rights, successfully desegregating school systems, reforming police departments, ensuring access for the disabled and defending the religious. Now, under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the DOJ appears to be turning away from this storied tool, called

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Vermont’s Voucher Program Helps The Rich Pay For Prep School With Public Money

Regardless of their income, residents of small Vermont towns can use state vouchers to send their children to boarding schools and ski academies. Some school-choice advocates want to replicate the program nationwide.

June 05th, 2017

By Annie Waldman

Vermont’s Voucher Program Helps The Rich Pay For Prep School With Public Money

A self-made Vermonter, Glenn Bowman has sent both his children to out-of-state prep schools. His son plays lacrosse and football at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, and his daughter studied advanced dance at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. As the owner of a successful soapstone company that's been featured on

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DeVos Pick To Head Civil Rights Office Claims Said She Faced Discrimination For Being White

Candice Jackson’s intellectual journey raises questions about how actively she will investigate allegations of unfair treatment of minorities and women.

April 17th, 2017

By Annie Waldman

DeVos Pick To Head Civil Rights Office Claims Said She Faced Discrimination For Being White

The new acting head of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights once complained that she experienced discrimination because she is white. As an undergraduate studying calculus at Stanford University in the mid-1990s, Candice Jackson "gravitated" toward a section of the class that provided students with extra help on challenging

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Former Lobbyist With For-Profit Colleges Quits Education Department

Under fire from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Taylor Hansen quit the department three days after ProPublica revealed his hiring.

March 21st, 2017

By Annie Waldman

Former Lobbyist With For-Profit Colleges Quits Education Department

A former lobbyist for an association of for-profit colleges resigned last Friday from the Department of Education, where he had worked for about a month. As ProPublica

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Podcast: The FBI’s Secret Program To Smear Civil Rights Groups

Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly has outlined plans to hire agents and expand the pool of immigrants prioritized for removal, and speed up deportation hearings, among other items.

February 20th, 2017

By Annie Waldman

Podcast: The FBI’s Secret Program To Smear Civil Rights Groups

https://soundcloud.com/propublica/the-breakthrough-the-fbis-secret-rules (ANALYSIS) --- During the 1960s, the Federal Bureau of Investigations covertly targeted civil-rights leaders, women’s movements and anti-war protestors, all in the name of domestic security. The secret practices led to a Senate investigation — the so-called

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New Jersey Will No Longer Collect Loans From Families Of Dead Students

After a ProPublica and New York Times investigation into New Jersey’s student loan program, Gov. Chris Christie stayed silent. On Monday, he signed a reform bill ending its most onerous practice.

December 06th, 2016

By Annie Waldman

New Jersey Will No Longer Collect Loans From Families Of Dead Students

Last July, an investigation from ProPublica and The New York Times found that New Jersey's student loan agency aggressively sought repayment of loans with already onerous terms, even after some of the recipients had died. The efforts

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New Jersey Lawmakers Vote To Forgive Dead Students’ Loans

A bill ending the state loan agency’s practice of seeking repayment from the families of deceased students now heads to Gov. Chris Christie.

October 24th, 2016

By Annie Waldman

New Jersey Lawmakers Vote To Forgive Dead Students’ Loans

The New Jersey Senate voted unanimously on Thursday to approve a bill requiring that the state’s student loan agency forgive the debts of borrowers who die or become permanently disabled. The measure, approved by a 34–0 vote, passed the state assembly last month, and now heads to the desk of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has 45 days to

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