Poverty Among Young People Sharply Rising

A recent report on rural America finds staggeringly high rates of poverty among young people, a growing trend the authors describe as widespread and increasing. The report, Why Rural Matters 2011-12, found that almost 41 percent of the nation’s rural students are living in poverty, with 10 states posting rural student poverty rates of more than 50 percent. Although nearly half of the country’s school districts are considered rural using data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the report -- issued by the Rural School and Community Trust, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit -- finds that, on average, rural districts are receiving only one-fifth of state education funds. With an estimated 80 percent of its rural student population participating in federally subsidized meal programs, New Mexico had the highest rate of impoverished rural students of any state in the county. An additional 12 states are listed within the report as having rural education conditions requiring “urgent” attention from legislators.