How to Research Private Schools Like an Investigative Reporter

If you’re considering sending a child to private school, you’ve likely seen some glossy photos and lofty mission statements. But marketing brochures and admissions websites rarely tell you the bad stuff — like a principal with a concerning history, lawsuits filed by families, or financial instability that could shutter a school in the middle of the school year.

Parents have told us they assume authorities conduct safety and quality checks of private schools like they would for public ones. Our reporting shows that is often not the case. Many states take a hands-off approach, essentially leaving it to you to figure out if a school has problems. Advocates for systems that send public money to private schools have said the best accountability check on private schools is that families can leave if they are dissatisfied.

This is why our team at ProPublica — a nonprofit newsroom focused on investigative journalism in the public interest — has spent months digging into the expanding private school landscape. We’ve used data, public records, court cases and countless interviews to investigate hundreds of schools, and we’ve uncovered some with serious issues. These include a school in Arkansas that’s still operating after its founder was accused of running a “makeshift ‘Fight Club,’” and a former superintendent fired for mismanaging charter school money in the Midwest who was able to receive public funds in Florida. 

(The Arkansas school founder did not respond to interview requests and questions from ProPublica, and the school’s new education director said the founder is no longer involved in school operations. The former charter school superintendent told a reporter she had acted with board approval and spent money on kids and to develop and retain staff, saying auditors created a “false narrative” of her actions.)

We’ve learned from experience that it’s difficult to piece together a complete picture of any school, even if you’re an investigative reporter. Some states have stronger laws and provide better information than others. But we’ve also found that no matter where you live, there are free public records, databases and verification techniques that can prove useful. We’ve written this guide to pass on a few lessons we’ve learned. We hope it will help you spot red flags and make informed decisions for your family.

If you end up finding something interesting in your research, please let us know. We’re still reporting!

How do I begin?

Where you live will determine what private school records are available. Before starting to examine a specific school, it’s good to get a sense of local regulations. 

• Check your state’s education agency website. You can find a link through the U.S. Department of Education. Note that states may refer to private schools as “nonpublic” or “independent” schools, and some state education agencies have no authority over private schools. If your state has a page on private schools — like these ones from Pennsylvania, Tennessee, New Hampshire and Florida — give it a read. Look for school lists, the types of schools available in your state, and any relevant regulations mentioned.  
• Take a look at what information schools need to report. EdChoice, a group that advocates for voucher systems and other programs that make public money available for private education, has a useful guide to some of the requirements schools must meet to open in each state. This can give you an initial sense of what your state is and is not asking schools to report. 
• Look at voucher rules. If your state offers public money to private school attendees through vouchers, savings accounts or tax credits, check to see if those programs set additional rules for schools. EdChoice has a list of program names. Here’s an example of a voucher-specific state website for Indiana. 

Who runs this private school?

It’s important for you to know who makes the decisions about a school’s operations. This could be the principal, or it might be a different person or a board. The school could also be run by a larger organization. To find out:

• See if your state education department has a directory. Some places, including North Carolina, Texas and Florida, maintain directories of private schools that name each school’s main contact. Not all states collect or provide such information. 
• Look up the business registration. This can show when a school was founded and by whom, and whether it has changed its name. You can locate registrations by visiting OpenCorporates, which gathers this information on many businesses across states.

  In some cases, the school may not register as an independent entity because it operates as part of a larger organization, such as a church. Be aware that the school may also have a legal name that differs from the name it is known by, or it may use a company to help manage its paperwork, in which case you may see that company’s name listed rather than the school administrator’s.  

• Look for employee reviews. Some schools have a profile on an employment website like Glassdoor, where workers can post reviews. It’s worth searching there to try to get a sense of school culture, but keep in mind that anonymous reviews should not be considered verified information.
• Search for news articles. Once you have names of some administrators, Google them to find news articles or references to their history, being mindful that if someone has a common name, you might get results about other people. Basic as it may seem, this type of search has been one of the most powerful tools behind our investigations. In 2024, we reported on a private school founder whose prior charter school had its charter revoked — a fact that had been previously reported in the news. 

Who will be teaching my student?

The requirements — if any exist — for becoming a private school teacher vary by state. ProPublica recently reported on an example of a woman who pled no contest to felony child abuse in Florida and lost her teaching license, but was still able to then open a private school. Community members called attention to her history, which was findable online. 

• Identify names. Look for teachers listed on the school’s website or its social media accounts, such as Facebook or LinkedIn. It’s also good to directly ask the school for teachers’ names, as online information could be outdated. 
• Examine certifications. Check your state’s teacher licensure database to see whether someone is certified and what subjects or areas they are qualified to teach, including special education and gifted endorsements. International Schools Services has a list of these databases, but check your state’s education agency website to see if they offer anything more up to date.

  Some state voucher programs require at least some school employees to be certified. For instance, Ohio requires principals of schools participating in its scholarship program to be licensed. In other states, there are no such private school certification requirements. Further, private schools in some places, like Utah and Arizona, are not legally required to fingerprint teachers or run criminal background checks before hiring them. 

• Find employment histories. You may be able to find teachers’ resumes on LinkedIn or through their own personal sites. If you can find names of schools they previously worked at, search for their names in conjunction with those schools. The social media accounts for prior schools might also help you learn more about them. 

  You’ll also want to Google for news articles that mention them, bearing in mind that common names might mean you get results for other people. Consider putting quotation marks around names to search for them as exact phrases, and use city or state names and the subjects the person teaches to help narrow your search results. 

• Check for past discipline. If an employee does have a license to teach, you may be able to determine whether they have ever been disciplined by the state. In some cases, this information is listed in the same database as their license information, but in other states, you’ll need to look for a separate disciplinary database, like this one in Arizona, to get full details on disciplinary actions. Texas also maintains a list of teachers who are ineligible to be hired at public schools. Not all states make disciplinary information accessible to the public, and it can be challenging to get details on cases, as ProPublica and KQED have reported on in California. 

Is the private school financially stable?

If a school has money trouble and closes, it could leave you in the lurch midyear. Some states require private schools participating in voucher programs to demonstrate some form of financial soundness. If a state doesn’t require such information, it can be difficult for families to gain visibility into a school’s financial situation. 

• Locate nonprofit filings. Many private schools operate as nonprofits. Depending on their size, they may need to file annual financial information with the IRS. ProPublica maintains a database of such filings called the Nonprofit Explorer. These can be daunting to review, but they can offer some basic information: For example, in prior years, was the school generally bringing in enough money to cover its costs? You can assess this at a high level by comparing whether its revenue was greater than its expenses. Schools operating at a loss for multiple years could be at risk of closure.

  Additionally, such filings show how much some of the highest-paid employees of an organization are making. Is most of the school’s income going toward one person’s salary? Does the school cover its costs through tuition, or is it reliant on donations? Does the school have debt from investments like purchasing a building? Does it spend substantial chunks of revenue on outside vendors?

  ProPublica and The Texas Tribune used nonprofit filings to report on conflicts of interest at private schools in Texas. For example, the newsrooms found at least six private schools that awarded contracts to companies with ties to their board members.

How can I assess the quality of the education?

• Look for accreditation. Accreditation is meant to provide an outside assessment of whether a school is meeting certain educational standards. It can affect college applications and whether a school is eligible to receive public money through vouchers. If a school does not name an accreditor on its website or it isn’t reported in your state’s directory (such as Florida’s), you may need to ask directly whether it is accredited and by which organization.

  Not all private schools are accredited and not all accrediting agencies are equally rigorous. Some accreditors may visit the school in person, while others only use virtual site visits. If a school claims to be accredited by an agency, check the website for the accreditor to confirm the school is listed and in good standing. Here are examples of such directories. Where possible, ask the school if you can see any accreditation review reports, which assess the learning environment. Here’s an example from a Catholic school in Nebraska. 

• Consider enrollment and staffing. Some state education departments, like California’s, collect and report this information for certain schools. 
• Look for retention data. One indicator of whether families are happy with a school is whether they choose to stay from year to year. This information is not readily available in most places, but you can ask a school whether voucher users who were eligible chose to return. 

How will my student’s learning be assessed?

Under federal law, public schools are required to assess student performance in reading, math and science and must inform parents about the results. There’s no such federal law for private schools.

• Identify testing requirements. In 2024, the Education Commission of the States logged testing requirements for states’ voucher programs. Voucher advocacy group EdChoice has also collected such information for each state. Note that legislatures are actively shaping state programs and these requirements may change over time. 
• Check for posted test results. While some voucher programs, like North Carolina’s, require participating private schools to administer nationally standardized tests (meaning you can compare your student to other test-takers), the results of such tests are not usually posted online for prospective families.

  There are a few exceptions. For example, in Ohio and Indiana, you can look up a private school and see whether test-takers demonstrated proficiency in core subjects. In Arkansas, you can see how students performed on tests on average for each school. Wisconsin posts annual report cards for private schools participating in the state’s voucher program, using test scores and other measures to gauge whether the school is meeting expectations.

• Contact the school. If this information is not readily available where you live, you can ask a school about any tests it administers. 

Has this school been sued?

If something goes wrong at a private school, families may turn to the courts. The existence of a lawsuit or complaint does not confirm wrongdoing, but suits can help you learn more about other people’s experiences and potential concerns. We’ve found examples of court cases showing criminal history, broken financial contracts and complaints from prior employees. 

You might also find lawsuits where schools are the ones pursuing families, which can give you a lens into how they handle enrollment contracts. For instance, The Washington Post reported on cases of schools suing families over tuition disputes. 

• Locate cases and documents. Lawsuits might be filed in state, local or federal courts. If you navigate to your state and then county on the website BRB, you can see what records may be searchable in your location. Some states like Texas, Kansas and Georgia have court databases that let you search for free across multiple jurisdictions. CourtListener provides another avenue for checking federal court cases. Depending on where you live, there may be a way to search court cases from home, or you might need to call the local clerk or visit a courthouse. Look for judges’ orders and jury verdicts, which can be useful to see how a court weighed claims.

  Lawsuits are notoriously difficult to track down, as cases might be filed under multiple relevant names or locations. Try searching the school’s name, the name of the school’s leaders and teachers and any other names you can find.

• Keep context in mind. On the flip side, the lack of lawsuits doesn’t mean things are operating perfectly. Lawsuits usually cost money to file, and some private school contracts may prevent families from suing. You can ask the school if they have any such clause in the agreements that families sign. 

How does the school’s student body compare to the community? 

If you are trying to get a sense of the student body of a school, check ProPublica’s Private School Demographics database. This data is based on the federal Private School Universe Survey, which is voluntary, so not all schools have participated. Note that the survey is only conducted every two years, so the information may not be current. Our database also compares private schools’ demographics to those of their local public school districts. 

Some state departments of education, like Louisiana’s, also maintain demographic data by school. 

School handbooks may also provide information on whether a school serves all students or may exclude some groups, like those with disabilities or LGBTQ+ parents from admissions.

What have other families said about this school?

In investigative reporting, there is no substitute for talking to people. As you try to vet a private school, one of the best resources will be past and current families or alumni. 

• Check for online reviews. It’s always worth checking for reviews from past families on Google or on the school’s Facebook page. Also check Niche and GreatSchools. Use a critical eye when reading. People posting may not need to confirm their identity, might have no connection to the school or could even be school employees. 
• Look at social media. Check your community’s local social media pages, such as Facebook and Nextdoor, for additional comments. Search for the school’s name in WhatsApp groups and on Reddit. 
• Understand what families are and aren’t allowed to say. Some schools put their handbooks and admissions policies online. Read through these and see if they have rules about how enrolled families are allowed to speak about the school on social media. You’ll want to know if a school bars parents and guardians from sharing criticism. 
• Ask people who work with families. If your child has a disability and you work with advocates, therapists or other specialists, you could see what they’ve heard about the schools you’re considering.

Could government agencies have records available to the public? 

Even in states that do not regulate private schools, families may turn to the government when things go wrong, creating records you might be able to locate. 

• Look for federal documents. It’s worth checking with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which fields discrimination-related claims from across the country, to see if there have been any complaints (though the agency has stopped posting them online). This would only pertain to certain private schools that have received federal dollars. You might also find inspection information from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 
• Ask the state to see complaints. You could reach out to your state’s education agency and request any documented complaints it has received regarding a school by making a public records request. Arkansas, for example, maintains a hotline and an email address where people can report concerns about suspected financial misconduct.

  Or there may be another department that would take complaints. For example, Colorado directs people to the Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Unit.

  Records requests can take some time to process, and there may be a cost associated with asking for such documents. You can learn more about asking for public records from MuckRock.

• Consider unique state records. Your state may also provide additional procedural documents. For example, in Georgia, you can see if a school is regularly conducting and reporting fire drills. Or if Florida tries to remove a school from scholarship eligibility and an owner appeals the decision, you might find records through the state’s Division of Administrative Hearings.

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