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"Under No Child Left Behind, schools are given a failing grade if even one group of students - those with disabilities or low-income students, for example - doesn't meet testing targets that escalate each year. The law requires 100 percent proficiency in math and English by 2014, a provision Board of Education President David Foster called "illogical and nonsensical.""

"A state law signed by Gov. Pat Quinn last year gives low-income senior citizens and disabled people access to free rides on mass transit, but budget cutting by the General Assembly might stop some of those people from getting the benefit this year."

"Low-income pre-kindergarten students who attend a free state program at private schools and day cares scored above the national average on tests, according to a report by the Cecil J. Picard Center for Child Development at UL."

"In-home care workers serve low-income disabled or elderly residents who need help bathing, cooking or cleaning, at rates that range from $8 to $14.78 per hour depending on the county, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office. An estimated 72 percent of IHSS recipients receive care from a relative."

"State officials, grappling with several years of budget deficits, have been searching for a way to rein in the ballooning Cal Grant program that gives scholarships to low-income students. In 2003, the state spent $460 million to give out 147,000 Cal Grants."

"'We're pleased that the Senate has reached a deal to keep rates low and continue offering hard-working students a fair shot at an affordable education,' he said. 'Higher education has never been more important to getting a good job. That's why President Obama has made stopping this rate hike and saving 7.4 million students an average of $1,000 a priority since his State of the Union and has repeatedly called on Congress to act.'"

"Pell Grants' original focus was to facilitate college access for low-income students. Since 1972, when the program began, the number of students from the lowest income quartile going to college has increased by more than 50 percent. However, Robinson and Cheston report that the percentage who completed college by age 24 decreased from 21.9 percent in 1972 to 19.9 percent."

"A Windward Community College program aimed at helping low-income students get into - and complete - college has received a five-year, $1.15 million federal grant. Students enter the Educational Talent Search program in sixth grade and are offered intensive college and career planning counseling, including help with applying for financial aid."

"'Part of some people's stigma is that it's only geared for low-income families,' she said. 'It's for anyone, and that's been the hardest thing to stress. This is for any child.' The program runs for eight weeks during the summer, officials said."

"Nearly 100 at-risk youths are spending their summer immersed in fun, faith and education at the John 3:16 Mission's Summer Kids Camp. This is the 14th year the mission has offered the free camp for children who are going into grades one through five. 'We saw in our homeless population a serious literacy issue and wanted to do something about it,' said the Rev. Steve Whitaker, CEO of the John 3:16 Mission."

"The wealth gap between households headed by someone over 65 and those headed by someone under 35 is wider than at any point since the Federal Reserve Board began keeping consistent data in 1989. The gap in homeownership is the largest since Census Bureau data began in 1982."

"WE'RE always saying that 'children are our nation's most valuable resource.' Unfortunately, we don't behave as if we believe it. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of children living in poverty in America increased by 41 percent, and now includes nearly one-quarter of our kids. Growing up in poverty is bad."