School leaders received numerous reports that former high school English teacher Curtis Johnston was “dating” a student but failed to intervene, complaint says
The proposal would expand the definition of illegal sexual contact between prison staff and an inmate to include kissing, groping
Washington is one of 12 states without enforceable state standards or oversight — that won’t change in 2026
Unequal Justice is a joint project of InvestigateWest and the Pamplin Media Group, made possible in part by a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
Independent journalist Kate Willson compiled and analyzed the data, bringing it to InvestigateWest, which developed and coordinated a larger collaboration. The National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting reviewed and refined our methodology and analysis. Researcher Mark G. Harmon from the Portland State University Criminology & Criminal Justice Department provided statistical review and analysis. Special thanks for technical assistance to data analyst Adam Lake and database administrator Joe Petsche.
Geographer Lynn Songer created the series of maps, based on our data, and Shan Anderson, an instructor at the University of Oregon School of Journalism, turned them into an interactive online tool. Karen Pelland provided audio assistance.
In addition to freelance reporting, Willson works on the communications team at Multnomah County, where she tells stories about the people and programs serving immigrants and refugees. Willson received no compensation for her work on this project, which began prior to her county employment. Her work on the project was conducted outside her role and responsibilities at the county. Reporting on matters directly concerning Multnomah County was done by reporters Nick Budnick and Lee van der Voo.
Details about our methodology can be found here.
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School leaders received numerous reports that former high school English teacher Curtis Johnston was “dating” a student but failed to intervene, complaint says
The proposal would expand the definition of illegal sexual contact between prison staff and an inmate to include kissing, groping
Washington is one of 12 states without enforceable state standards or oversight — that won’t change in 2026
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