Resource Center

Stories

The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast.

These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need.

Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:



Search results for "US Department of Education" ...

  • "State 7th in U.S. in boat mishaps accidents"

    Arizona has one of the highest boating accident rates in the country. It is also one of the only states to not have boater education laws or require boat operators to take any type of education course before going out on the water. The National Transportation Safety Board has been urging Arizona to create and enforce such safety laws to decrease the number of accidents.

    Tags: National Transportation Safety Board; boating accidents; personal watercraft; Arizona State Parks Department; Sen. Linda Gray; Game and Fish

    By Travis Grabow; Chrystall Kanyuck

    Cronkite News Service (Phoenix, Ariz.)

    2009

  • "Sexual Assault on Campus: A Frustrating Search for Justice"

    Unfortunately, sexual assault occurs on campuses all over the U.S. For the small number of those who come forward to report the act, institutional policies can often make the process toward accountability difficult, sometimes even causing the victim to drop the claim. The Center for Public Integrity finds that most university policies are lacking in "transparency" and often lead to less the harsh punishment for the accused attackers.

    Tags: Title IX; Clery Act; federal Department of Education; sexual violence; FERPA; Security on Campus Inc; Victim Rights Law Center

    By Gordon Witkin; David Donald; Kristen Lombardi; Kristin Jones; Laura Dattaro; Claritza Jimenez; Laura Cheek

    Center for Public Integrity (Washington, D.C.)

    2009

  • Student Loan Scandal

    The story package revealed "improper payoffs from a student loan company to college financial aid officers, as well as to a key official at the U.S. Department of Education who was in charge of overseeing the lenders that participate in the federal guaranteed student-loan program."

    Tags: student loans; improper payoffs; college financial aid; lenders

    By Stephen Burd; Michael Dannenburg

    Higher Ed Watch (Washington, DC)

    2007

  • Sallie Mae

    Sallie Mae, started in 1972 as a government sponsored enterprise meant to "encourage private banks to loan to students who were considered to be a credit risk," pushed became a private lender in 1997. Since then, the stock price "has gone up almost 2,000 percent" and company executives have become among the highest paid in the nation. CBS' 60 Minutes investigates, and explores the question of whether it's appropriate for Sallie Mae to act as both a lender and a collector.

    Tags: Sallie Mae; student loans; student loan default; Higher Education Act; U.S. Department of Education

    By Lesley Stahl; Janet Klein; Douglas Kiker; Richard Buddenhagen

    CBS News 60 Minutes

    2006

  • Insecurity on Campus

    As reported by two teams of journalism students at Southern Methodist University and Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism at the University of North Texas, many colleges were failing to inform students about violent crimes-such as rape-in and around their campuses. Also, many campuses were misinterpreting or ignoring the Clery Act, which requires disclosure of campus-related crimes. Many rapes were ignored or were logged as simple 'assaults'. As a result, U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation into the story's findings.

    Tags: campus crimes; date rape; sexual abuse; sex; college; Clery Act; Texas universities; U.S. Department of Education

    By Megan Connolly;Christine Dao;Farrar Johnson;Pablo Lastra;Jennifer McDowell;Jessica Savage;Shalandys Anderson;Rebecca Ekpe;Jaclyn Gonzales10;Christina Jancic;Elizabeth Lee;Lindsay Marshall;Brooke Scoggins;Hannah Seddelmeyer;Taylor Timmins;Melissa Christensen

    None

    2004

  • Campus crime

    This WMAR investigation into the amount of crime on Maryland college campuses was prompted by the stabbing death of a Johns Hopkins University student while he slept in his dorm. The TV station wanted to take a more in-depth look into campus crime, so it analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education's Clery Act to determine a rate of crime at state college campuses. The investigation also showed footage of campus crimes after a series of challenging negotiations with some college campuses to release surveillance video under state open records laws.

    Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; campus crime; students; colleges; Clery Act database; crime statistics

    By Tisha Thompson;John Anglim

    WMAR-TV (Baltimore)

    2004

  • Wrongdoing in Wilmer-Hutchins

    Using a hidden camera and the unpaid help of a mold remediation expert, reporters at KDFW exposed severe problems with the Wilmer-Hutchins district high school. News cameras also caught the district using illegal immigrants instead of mold remediation specialists to repair building problems. The investigation also lead to the discovery of mismanagement and fraud in the school district's leadership and its financial records. As a result of this report, a state education agency audit followed, along with investigations by the FBI, IRS, U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour division, and the Federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Throughout the investigation, district officials denied any wrongdoing, refused to hand over documents, and were eventually charged with tampering with evidence in the federal investigations.

    Tags: standardized testing; bonds; mismanagement of funds; Wilmer-Hutchins school district

    By Rehan Hyder;Becky Oliver;Kim Miller;Shaun Rabb;Jeff Crilley;Phil Fleming;Rick Larsen;Kevin Bell;Steve Bellairs;Michael Tew;Steve Yakub;Mark Duval;Bill Sutton

    KDFW-TV (Dallas)

    2004

  • Quality Counts 2003

    This story from the Education Week looks at the dearth of qualified teachers in schools that have a high number of minority children and poorer students. As the reporters found out, teachers in these schools have difficult working conditions and that high schools students have teachers who are not certified in the subjects they are teaching.

    Tags: US Department of Education; school teachers; high minority schools; teachers license; No child left behind act; teachers certification

    By Lynn Olsen;Katheryn Doherty;Susan Ansell;Melissa McCabe;Jennifer Park;Ronald Skinner;Jeff Archer;Julie Blair;Bess Keller

    Education Week

    2003

  • In the Line of Fire: Former Civil Rights advocate Norma V. Cantu now runs the federal office that investigates discrimination in schools. Her views and her office's tactics have some critics up in arms.

    This story explains how one woman (Norma V. Cantu) is working to fight discrimination and ensure the survival of affirmative action programs. Norma V. Cantu is the U.S. Department of Education's assistant secretary for civil rights.

    Tags: Norma V. Cantu; Norma Cantu; affirmative action; discrimination; education; schools; civil rights.

    By David J. Hoff

    Education Week

    1997

  • 2002 IRE National Conference Show and Tell Tape #2

    2002 IRE National Conference (San Francisco) Show and Tell Tape #2 features the following stories 1) Tim Minton (WNBC-New York City) Security at local hospitals are lacking. 2) Brian Collister (KMOL-San Antonio) An inordinate number of court case have been thrown out of the local county court because judges ruled the defendants lacked a speedy trial. 3) Clips from a PBS project concerning scientists' genetic experiments. 4) Kevin Quinn (KFSN-Fresno) Area residents are suspicious of a local Muslim village called Baladullah, where the sounds gunfire has been heard emanating from the grounds. 5) Dan Noyes (KGO-San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose) Guardrails in California are often installed incorrectly, turning the protective barriers into potential dangers. 6) Craig Fiegener (ABC 30 Action News) Fifteen travelers are swindled by a travel agency, which sold them unconfirmed tickets for a cruise. 7) Joel Grover (CBS 2-Los Angeles) An undercover investigation reveals that valet parking attendants at LA's hottest night clubs steal from their customers. 8) Paul Gallagher (60 Minutes) An investigation of the U.S. Marine Corps' MV-22 "Osprey" aircraft reveals serious mechanical problems that contributed to two crashes in 2000, which killed 23 Marines. 60 Minutes also reports that "senior officers in the Osprey squadron had deliberately falsified maintenance records and lied about the aircraft's readiness -- in an apparent effort by the Marine Corps to win Pentagon approval for full production of the aircraft, at a projected cost to U.S. taxpayers of $41 billion." 9) Tom Martino (KDVR-Denver) An undercover investigation reveals that many beauty salons use a dangerous chemical to make fake nails. 10) (WGHP-Greensboro) An investigation reveals that construction works who built the homes in a subdivision failed to install the chimneys correctly, making them dangerous for those who live there. 11) Darcy Spears (KVBC-Las Vegas) A hearing aid center uses bait and switch tactics to take advantage of the elderly. 12) Jim Kenyon (WSTM-Syracuse, New York) Criminals in Canada involved in advance fee loan scams trick Americans out of thousands of dollars. 13) Bob Segall (WITI-Milwaukee) An undercover investigation reveals that security guards at a local county courthouse don't do a good job of stopping banned items from entering the building. 14) Karen Hensel (WISH-Indianapolis) Marian County inspectors don't always review homes under construction. 15) (WBTV-Charlotte, N.C.) Members of the Iredell-Statesville School Board use district funds to attend an education conference -- but then skip the convention and go on a vacation to Disney World, all on the taxpayer's dime. 16) Valeri Williams (WFAA-Dallas/Fort Worth) WFAA-TV follows up its 2000 IRE Awards entry with this return investigation into Fort Worth's John Peter Smith Hospital. Reporter Williams and producer Schucker continued their investigation, focusing on Dr. Lydia Grotti and her connection to suspicious and overlooked deaths in the emergency room. As a result of WFAA-TV's investigation the Texas Department of Health began conducting its own investigation and discovered additional deaths that took place in the ER. The county district attorney's office called in a special prosecutor to examine a total of eight suspicious deaths in connection with Dr. Grotti at the hospital. On Tape #2 is a short clip of Williams' work. Tape #3 features the entire series of stories she played at Show and Tell.

    Tags: TAPE; San Francisco; conference; no transcripts; IRE

    By IRE

    IRE

    2002