Season two is set in the United States Midwest at two high schools, one public and one private. Issues of sexual orientation and socioeconomic disparity come to a boil when lurid photos of a high school boy are posted on social media following a school party. Circumstances become more complicated when the boy accuses two players on an elite private high school championship basketball team of drugging, assaulting and then posting the pictures of him online.
Annie calls 911 to get help for Taylor, but it's not easy getting the authorities to pay attention to the alleged crime. Meanwhile, Leslie makes sure the Leyland School is ready for the impending investigation. Terri has an intervention with Kevin and Eric's truth comes out.
A news article goes online describing what happened at the captain's party and naming Kevin as a participant in the alleged assault on Taylor. Meanwhile, Anne is forced to defend herself after the item is published; and new evidence is revealed that paints a murkier picture of what really happened on the night in question.
Following the revelation that evidence was found on Taylor’s clothing, the parents of the basketball players and faculty of The Leyland School prepare for invasive DNA testing on the team. The impending test forces Eric to make a painful revelation, while at the same time, Taylor attempts to return to normalcy as he matriculates back into a local public high school.
In the hours after Eric is forced to openly discuss his sexuality, Taylor must defend his actions on the night of his alleged assault to the police; Anne struggles with the discovery that her son is gay; a critical decision by the detectives makes some involved feel as though the worst may be over; and at Marshall high school, Chris deals with the aftermath of a seemingly innocuous incident that begins to take on racial overtones.
Against the school lawyer's advice, Leslie decides to take it upon herself to welcome Eric back to Leyland with a school-wide showing of empathy. But Eric soon discovers that his return does not sit well with some of his fellow basketball team members; Anne decides that she'd rather take the school to court over what happened to her son, Taylor, than accept a settlement, and Chris finds himself being vilified when students begin picketing Marshall high school after three Hispanic students are suspended for fighting with a black student, who received no punishment whatsoever.
Feeling nothing but pain and conflict, Taylor continues to become emotionally undone as he tries to find a way to stop feeling like a victim; and Anne's private medical records are anonymously posted online in an effort to shame her. The act catches the attention of Sebastian, who makes another attempt to engage Anne. Meanwhile, Leslie offers a generous settlement to Evy's father in order to protect the school from litigation, and Eric tries to find some misguided solace with a stranger.
In an episode that features interviews with real-life Columbine teachers, along with parents and victims of LGBT bullying, Leyland High School mourns the loss of one of their own, while Leslie finds her job on the line in the aftermath of the tragedy; Curt tries to file a missing person’s report with the police when he suspects his estranged wife, Lilah, has run off with their son, Peter, after she blames him for son Eric’s sexuality; Becca makes a startling confession to Dan; and Sebastian reaches out to Anne in an attempt to help her bring retribution to those who caused her son Taylor’s downfall.
Following the on-campus murder of a fellow Leyland student, the entire community is forced to re-examine all of the choices they have made in the wake of the sexual encounter between Eric and Taylor; leaked personal information implicates both Kevin and Becca to the shooting; Sebastian targets the Leyland school by releasing its most sensitive information online, which causes Leslie to take drastic measures; and at Marshall High, Chris finds himself at a career crossroads when he faces a school review board.
Sebastian gets a taste of his own medicine and is stunned to discover that someone is usurping his cause and releasing emails, texts and other pieces off personal information about numerous Leyland families, initiating a chain reaction that could cause the downfall all of those involved with the events of the alleged sexual assault on Taylor, and everything that has transpired since; Dan and Steph must deal with the fallout of their daughter Becca being arrested for supplying drugs to Taylor the day of the murder; Michael goes to extreme measures to ensure that son Kevin won't be implicated as being complicit in the beating of Taylor, which doesn't sit well with Terri; and Chris makes a decision about his future with Marshall High School.
An undocumented worker, Luis Salazar, travels from Mexico into the United States in search of a job, only to discover that modern servitude is thriving in the farmlands and agricultural communities. Coy Henson is a young, white American male, estranged from his family and hopelessly addicted to drugs. Hesby Farms, a struggling family-owned tomato farm, is forced to cut back on labor costs in order to be competitive in a market that continuously demands lower prices. Jeanette Hesby, who married into the family that owns the farm, begins to learn the shocking truth behind their wealth. Kimara Walters is a dedicated social worker who truly wants to help those in need. When Kimara meets Shae Reese, a 17-year-old prostitute, Kimara wants to help Shae get out of the business, turn her life around and testify against her pimp in court.
Luis arrives at the Hesby Farm and receives important information about his missing son while Coy witnesses a horrific incident that changes his entire perception about life in the field and confirms his dark new reality. Meanwhile, Shae begins to reconsider her decision to stay in a shelter, and Kimara receives difficult personal news. After a deep and revealing conversation, Jeanette and JD attend the workers’ rally.
Luis learns about the fate of his son, as Coy devises a plan to get himself off the farm. Jeanette tries to plead her case about the working conditions in the fields to Laurie Ann while Shae comes to a decision that will affect the rest of her life. Meanwhile, business owner Nicholas Coates struggles with making a profit in a market that continuously demands lower prices while his wife, Clair, decides to hire and provide a working visa for a Haitian woman, Gabrielle, to be their son’s nanny.
Kimara advises Dustin to inform the police about the crime that took place in the webcam house, which leads to an unforeseen outcome. Meanwhile, detectives open up a troubling investigation into Clair and Nicholas, who maintain their innocence and contend that Gabrielle is the guilty party. Jeanette must confront and consider the costs and sacrifices of social change.
