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"Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, it was school board policy to promote diversity by balancing the percentages of minority students at schools. A decade ago, the board switched to promoting diversity by balancing the percentages of low-income students."

"A key lesson in the 'no excuses' type of public school, which uses firm measures to raise achievement for impoverished students, is behavior has consequences. The Knowledge Is Power Program.. does that by denying some students the traditional year-end trip to Orlando."

"Providing more poor families with free pre-school and helping teachers use student test data to guide instruction are among the South Dakota proposals for a $650 million federal grant competition."

"...[O]utdoor hearing attended by hundreds of school-choice advocates, a New Jersey Senate committee unanimously approved a bill Thursday that would create scholarships for some low-income children to attend private or out-of-district public schools."

"'We're seeing some improvement, but we're seeing a lot of unfortunate failure to improve, particularly by the state's lowest-performing schools... Those are the schools that tend to serve Latino, African American, and students in poverty."

"The resulting settlement in what's known as the Williams case has provided millions of dollars each year for low-performing schools. But Wednesday's ruling, while welcome, affects only three local schools and doesn't do nearly enough to protect low-income students..."

"The Miami-Dade school district and its teachers union signed off on Florida's Race to the Top application on Wednesday, putting the Sunshine State in a strong position to win federal education funding."

"Cheng is part of a growing movement of minority students rallying around a new cause fighting a budget crisis that's undermining access to higher education at a time when students of color have become a stronger demographic force."

"This injustice is especially acute when, as great senior teachers in high-poverty schools have told me with passion, many of their long-serving colleagues are just going through the motions, hanging on until generous pensions click in."

"A group of advocates for the poor and elderly, including AARP, on Tuesday called on Gov. Sonny Perdue to veto legislation that would eliminate income tax rebates of $26 to $52 that go to low-income Georgians."

"Unions have long rejected teacher evaluations based on student achievement because so many factors beyond the teacher's control, such as poverty or lack of parental support, affect a student's performance."

"Under the latest legislation, schools with a higher percentage of impoverished students - defined by those receiving low-cost or free lunches - would receive more funding for summer school."