Criminalizing Disability

Throughout 2019, Searchlight New Mexico reporters worked with hundreds of parents—conducting interviews, holding listening sessions, collecting and analyzing student education records—to investigate the state of special education. The overwhelming theme: children are not receiving legally-required disability services in school, and instead face disproportionate discipline, often ending up swept into the criminal justice system.

The following series is a result of that year-long investigation. Each story represents one of the four most common experiences described by parents.