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"Countless low-income districts already face chronic teacher shortages, and firing all the bad teachers would only compound the problem. As we seek to develop better teachers, we also must figure out how to get more teachers without sacrificing quality."

"They argued against ending the policy of keeping schools socioeconomically diverse, using busing in many cases, to avoid high concentrations of low-income students."

"Given a 52 percent budget cut in counseling and student services this year, the colleges can't always help them find their way to the financial aid... 'I think for low-income... students to access any services or classes in the system is really a challenge right now,' she said."

"[Michael Horwits, a social science teacher at Central] also asserted that Central is one of the most diverse schools: 32 percent black, 29 percent Asian, 30 percent white, and 7 percent Latino. Nearly 48 percent are low-income."

"Federal stimulus funding, which has supplemented special education and programs that serve low-income students, will drop off after next year, and contributions to the retirement account must begin to increase again."

"To be sure, Massachusetts school districts here have some important lessons to learn from other states, especially about bringing low-income and special needs students up to speed. But the problem is with the implementation ofstate standards, not the standards themselves."

"The annual report on student achievement... would also include where Massachusetts ranks among the 50 states on each measure when comparable data exists and shed light on how well the state's minority and low-income students are being educated..."

"That can result in disparities in how much schools spend per student. For example, in one school with 275 students and 91 percent poverty, the district spends $12,188 per pupil. In another school with 94 percent poverty and 504 students, it spends $9,899 per pupil."

"Medicare and Medicaid are the primary drivers of federal spending increases in coming decades. Both programs rely on the private health system to deliver care, so they are at its mercy just like businesses and families."

"The voucher program, which since 2004 has provided low-income D.C. students with as much as $7,500 in scholarships to attend private schools, has foundered in the Democratic-controlled Congress."

"Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender senior citizens face myriad social and financial problems, and lawmakers could help them by altering Social Security and Medicaid rules, according to a national report being released Wednesday."

"...[T]hose least well-served historically are low-income and underrepresented minority students, who are less likely than their peers to pursue two- and four-year degrees, and most at risk of not completing college if they do enroll."