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"Students from low-income households often struggle to compete academically with their peers. They become frustrated, drop out of school and go on to face difficulties related to criminal activity, drugs, health care and employment. In time, they become the parents of a new generation of students from low-income households."

Topic(s): Health, Economic Opportunity (Access to Benefits), Education, Workers and Poverty (Job Quality

"School Board president Ed Hughes says that the Madison Metropolitan School District remains focused on a race-based academic achievement gap that has plagued it for decades, and it is about more than families living in poverty."

"Homelessness isn't just taking a toll on families locally, it's also placing an increasing burden on local schools."

"Student scholarship organizations are marshaling their forces behind dueling plans to expand a controversial private school tuition tax credit program."

"Using his record 15th State of the City address to stump for ideas to improve Columbus, Mayor Michael B. Coleman pledged yesterday to raise more people out of poverty and spend millions for more preschool education."

"Supporters of privatizing public education with a voucher program say that parents need vouchers to give them more educational choices because many low income students are trapped in failing public schools.'"

"House Republicans drafted the measure that would have provided vouchers for preschool-aged children to attend school in a limited number of counties. Families earning less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level would qualify for up to $6,800 to attend public, private or parochial preschools."

"Why do we play hot potato with students from low-income families? Rutherford County Board of Education officials told us one of the main reasons to convert Central Middle to Central Magnet for high achievers was because the former middle school had a high percentage of children who came from families with low enough incomes to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches."

"Weatherford wants to expand Florida's nationally watched Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship program, which awards $229 million in school vouchers to more than 60,000 low-income students and provides the companies funding the program with income-tax credits."

Interview with Jim Weill, FRAC Executive Director