ProPublica Reporters Became Private School Owners in 24 Hours

A team of journalists set out to test how easily private schools can be created and made eligible for public funds, opening prototype "Curiosity Academy" microschools in Arkansas and West Virginia and attempting one in North Carolina. They established clear ethical rules: remain transparent about being reporters, use newsroom contact information, not enroll students, and stop if the experiment required illegal acts or diverted public resources. Working with local newsrooms, they formed school entities quickly - Arkansas accepted a $45 filing and an American flag as sufficient to register a school and issued a certificate; a microschool application there took about ten minutes. In West Virginia they filed a simple handwritten notice and only needed proof of a high school diploma, while state officials said they do not approve or deny microschools and offer no oversight mechanism.

The project found that microschool pathways and voucher-style programs can let minimally vetted operators access taxpayer funding: applicants were not required to show credentials, background checks, fiscal stability, or detailed safety assurances in these states. North Carolina halted the effort when state-specific fire and sanitation inspections would have required using public inspectors, which the team declined. The journalists closed the mock schools and preserved documentation, arguing the experiment reveals lax regulation and potential risks as private schools expand into unconventional spaces with limited state monitoring.