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Lexi Churchill was most recently a Scripps Howard research fellow at ProPublica, where she published an investigation exposing how the Trump administration’s quick and quiet crackdown on Idaho’s Medicaid procedures created new red tape that kept children with special needs and the state’s poorest residents from maintaining insurance. She also led reporting efforts for the “Sins of Omission” project and has been involved in ProPublica's coronavirus coverage over the last few weeks. Before joining ProPublica, Lexi interned at several organizations, including CNBC and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Lexi will report to Katie Zavadski, the research editor at ProPublica.
For the first time since Texas authorized the program, the state heard public testimony from people concerned about pre-K funding, special education provisions and data reporting. Full Story
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Three Texas charter school districts underreported compensation paid to top leaders. They also recently had failing or near-failing performance ratings. Full Story
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The details were revealed in more than 25,000 pages of records released after a yearslong legal fight by news outlets including ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. Full Story
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An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state laws had the schools been public. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers’ inaction on flood prevention often hits rural and economically disadvantaged communities the hardest, experts said. Full Story
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For the second time, lawmakers cut funding for kits meant to help find missing kids after ProPublica and The Texas Tribune documented the lack of evidence that the kits work. Full Story
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ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found nearly three dozen school districts were missing required campaign finance reports online. Now lawmakers are pushing to impose steep penalties on local governments that fail to abide by the law. Full Story
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Texas legislators slipped millions for child ID kits into a 1,000-page budget proposal. The move comes two years after they quietly cut funding for such kits following a ProPublica and Texas Tribune report that showed there’s no evidence they work. Full Story
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The rebuke from lawmakers and charter school leaders came after an investigation from ProPublica and The Texas Tribune revealed that Salvador Cavazos, who oversees fewer than 1,000 students, is among the most well-paid superintendents in the country. Full Story
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On paper, Salvador Cavazos earns less than $300,000 to run Valere Public Schools, a small Texas charter network. But taxpayers likely aren’t aware that his total pay makes him one of the country’s highest-earning superintendents. Full Story
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