Study Finds More Than Half Of U.S. Public School Children From Poor Families

More than half of the children attending U.S. public schools come from low income backgrounds, according to a new study by the Southern Education Foundation.

Using data collected from the National Center for Education Statistics, the group found 51% of public school students from kindergarten to 12th grade qualify for the federal program that provides free or subsidized lunches to students from families living in poverty or near-poverty.

The SEF said the rate of poor students in public schools hasn’t been higher in more than half a century, calling its findings “a defining moment in America’s public education.”

In 1989, less than a third of public school students came from poor backgrounds, the SEF said, but the number has since exploded.

“In 40 of the 50 states, low income students comprised no less than 40 percent of all public schoolchildren,” the SEF said. “In 21 states, children eligible for free or reduced-price lunches were a majority of the students in 2013.”

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