Investigations

A yearlong investigation tracing what happened after a special education advocate was banned from her children's schools. To report this story, I analyzed hundreds of rows of special education data and obtained several no-trespass records from the Demopolis Police Department, uncovering a pattern of barring Black parents from school.

A look at Alabama's broken special education and civil rights complaints processes, and why federal investigators are often the only recourse for families.

Nikki Carter, featured in this series, was recruited to be a the main plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education after attorneys read about her case.

Investigation tracing a century of Alabama textbook controversies and how they shape today’s classroom debates around race and history. To report this story, I read and logged nearly a dozen Alabama textbooks and took several trips to the state archives to research state history standards from as far back as 1950.

Initial story breaking the news of Dr. Barbara Cooper's departure from the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education.

Further reporting revealed the ouster was prompted by one lawmaker, who distributed concerns about a so-called "woke" pre-K training manual to key education leaders. AL.com found numerous instances of the word "equity" and other key terms scrapped from state-approved pre-K materials.

Alabama disposed of pre-K teaching materials after the governor disavowed the "woke" curriculum, resulting in significant waste.

Internal emails show Alabama's pre-K director took steps to remove the contested manuals before resigning amid political pressure.