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Center for Public Integrity
Pennsylvania bill could prevent schools from barring homeless students
The clock is ticking on a proposed Pennsylvania law mandating that school districts protect the federally guaranteed rights of homeless students. The bill gained traction last year after a Center for Public Integrity investigation revealed that districts in the state locked students out of school for weeks or months while investigating their families’ claims of homelessness.
Despite efforts to close gap, parity in mental health care remains elusive
In recent years, mental health care has become a mainstream issue. President Biden proposed an expansion of services nationwide. Lawmakers and celebrities speak openly about their struggles. States are providing incentives to expand the behavioral health workforce. Companies are recognizing the need for mental health leave. Telehealth care is rapidly expanding.
‘The restrictions are unbelievable’: States target voter registration drives
ORLANDO, Fla. — Carolina Wassmer piloted a gray SUV around the city, dropping off canvassers from the civic engagement group Poder Latinx one by one. It was a muggy day, but the canvassers hopped out with their clipboards and pens, ready to engage in a longstanding American tradition: the voter registration drive.
Asian students face racism, harassment at school. What would make it stop?
Editor’s note: This story has graphic language and descriptions of racial slurs, harmful rhetoric and violence against Asians and other students of color attending public schools. If you need support or have experienced violence, discrimination, harassment or racism, find an organization that can help in this database. Hai Au...
Why are hate crimes so hard to convict in court?
One May evening in 2022, two Filipino women — mother and daughter — went to pick up snacks at a McDonald’s drive-thru in North Hollywood when a white man allegedly rear-ended their car, drove alongside them and began to shout racial slurs, threatening to kill them. Nerissa...
After a years-long fight, EPA broadens ban on deadly chemical
It can kill on the spot or years after prolonged exposure. When methylene chloride’s fumes build up, the chemical switches off the brain’s respiratory center, asphyxiating its victims if it doesn’t trigger a heart attack first. At lower levels, the federal government says, it increases the risk of multiple types of cancer. And despite a 2019 ban keeping it out of consumer paint-stripping products, the chemical is still widely available in other items — from aerosol degreasers to sealants.
Law helps vulnerable heirs’ property owners — but only if they can afford it
The Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act was supposed to be a strong dose of medicine for the ills of heirs’ property — jointly owned land with multiple heirs not documented in wills or deedbooks, which have hindered multi-generational land ownership and family wealth for Black families since Reconstruction.
Amid Israel-Hamas war, colleges draw lines on faculty free speech
Leila Hudson treads carefully when discussing the Israel-Hamas war. As a Palestinian-American and the elected faculty chair at the University of Arizona, she says she has no choice. University policy forbids staff from using the college’s resources, including websites, computers and letterhead, to take a position on any ongoing public...
How to protect your community from the toxic lead lurking in soil
Lead poisoning is often treated as if it’s a problem of the past. But its harmful legacy lingers today, particularly in the soil of urban centers across the United States. One in every two American children under the age of 6 tested between late 2018 and early 2020 had detectable levels of lead in their blood. Studies show soil exposure is a major reason.
Transcript: Toxic labor
MARÍA HINOJOSA: WHEN POWERFUL HURRICANES, WILDFIRES OR FLOODS DESTROY COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES; SCORES OF WORKERS EMERGE FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY READY TO CLEAN AND REBUILD. AND, DEAR LISTENER, YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW THIS, BUT IT IS IN FACT LATINO IMMIGRANTS WHO ARE THE ONES MORE THAN LIKELY...
Covering clashes on campus as academic freedom challenges mount
Academic freedom in higher education is facing increased scrutiny at colleges and universities nationwide. It’s a story about campuses big and small, public and private, liberal and conservative, with few, if any, geographic boundaries. “When it comes to higher education, I don’t know if there are any safe places,”...
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The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom investigating democracy, power and privilege. Our reporting focuses on the influence of money and the impact of inequality on our society.
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