Aliyya Swaby
I write about children, families and inequality in the South.
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What I Cover
I report on issues affecting children and families including education, criminal justice, health care and the social safety net. Recently, I’ve been investigating how states handle threats of mass violence at schools.
My Background
I joined ProPublica’s South unit in 2021, after spending several years covering public education and state politics at The Texas Tribune. My reporting in Texas exposed school officials criminalizing students for vaping, highlighted the state’s role in remote learning failures and drew attention to mental health challenges among young children. My series on the legacy of school segregation in Texas was a Livingston Award finalist. I also won a prize in the 2020 National Awards for Education Reporting for beat reporting that investigated the impact of the coronavirus on Texas public schools.
An 11-Year-Old Denied Making a Threat and Was Allowed to Return to School. Tennessee Police Arrested Him Anyway.
A state law makes threats of mass violence at school a felony, even if they’re not credible. Judges and school officials say the law unnecessarily traumatizes kids.
Emails Reveal How a Hospital Bowed to Political Pressure to Stop Treating Trans Teens
The Medical University of South Carolina initially said it wouldn’t be affected by a law banning use of state funds for treatment “furthering the gender transition” of children under 16. Months later, it cut off that care to all trans minors.
The Fight Against an Age-Old Effort to Block Americans From Voting
As a new wave of restrictions makes voting harder for people who struggle to read — now 1 in 5 Americans — Olivia Coley-Pearson has taken up the fight, even if it makes her a target.
Tennessee’s Law on School Threats Ensnared Students Who Posed No Risks. Two States Passed Similar Laws.
Despite an outcry over increased arrests in Tennessee, two states — Georgia and New Mexico — followed its lead by passing laws that will crack down harder on hoax threats.
A Tennessee School Agreed to Pay $100,000 to Family of 11-Year-Old Student Arrested Under School Threats Law
Under the settlement, the Chattanooga charter school also agreed to implement training on how to handle threats of mass violence at school, including differentiating between “clearly innocuous statements” and “imminent” violence.
A Tennessee School Expelled a 12-Year-Old for a Social Post. Experts Say It Didn’t Properly Assess If He Made a Threat.
The way school officials handled his case also exposes glaring contradictions in two recent state laws that aim to criminalize school threats and require schools to expel students who make them — with minimal transparency or accountability.
First Came the Warning Signs. Then a Teen Opened Fire on a Nashville School.
Tennessee authorities were alerted to Solomon Henderson’s threatening and violent behavior long before he brought a gun to Antioch High School. It’s unclear how many red flags were heeded.
How Many Students Have Been Expelled Under Tennessee’s School Threats Law? There’s No Clear Answer.
Tennessee gives public agencies wide latitude to refuse to release data. That made it challenging for our reporters to figure out just how many students were affected.
Two Families Sue After 11-Year-Old and 13-Year-Old Students Were Arrested Under Tennessee’s School Threat Law
The lawsuits, filed in federal court this month, argue East Tennessee school officials violated students’ rights by calling the police on them under Tennessee’s threats of mass violence law.
A 13-Year-Old With Autism Got Arrested After His Backpack Sparked Fear. Only His Stuffed Bunny Was Inside.
Disability rights advocates said kids like Ty should not be getting arrested under Tennessee’s school threats law. And they tried to push for a broader exception for kids with other kinds of disabilities. It didn’t work.
Georgia’s Top GOP Lawmaker Seeks Tougher Action Against Students Who Make Threats. But It May Not Make Schools Safer.
To deter violence, research suggests the best strategy is not harsh punishment for threats but a different tactic, one based on decades of interviews with mass shooters, political assassins and people who survived attacks: threat assessments.
A 10-Year-Old Pointed a Finger Gun. The Principal Kicked Him Out of His Tennessee School for a Year.
A 2023 state law requires a yearlong expulsion for any student who threatens mass violence on school property. But some students have been kicked out even when school officials determined that the threat was not credible.
Transgender Care Coverage Policies in North Carolina and West Virginia Are Discriminatory, Court Rules
The states violated federal law by banning coverage of certain treatments for transgender people but allowing it for others, according to a decision that could influence courts around the country.