Dec 10, 2019
In
a joint investigation, ProPublica Illinois’ Jodi Cohen and
Jennifer Smith Richards of The Chicago Tribune teamed up to
investigate the use of seclusion rooms in Illinois’ public
schools. In the process, they discovered that seclusion -- billed
as a humane way to control misbehaving students -- was misused,
overused and ended up being disproportionately inflicted on
students with disabilities. Their reporting prompted not just
outrage but swift action by the state’s lawmakers.
How did the journalists discover the
abuses? How did they use social media and websites to track down
potential sources? And how can local reporters follow their
lead?