Dive Brief:

• A new map released by advocacy organization EdBuild shows the increase nationwide in the number of districts considered “high-poverty,” with at least 20% of students live in poverty.
• In 2006, 31% of students attended school in a high-poverty district, and that number jumped to 49% in 2013.
• The increase was particularly severe in the South and the Midwest.

Dive Insight:

Schools with large numbers of students living in poverty often struggle to provide the services needed and to help students overcome educational difficulties. Many states, 23 in total, fund impoverished schools at lower levels than affluent ones, which can exacerbate differences between the schools.

Some states saw a particular increase in the number of schools with concentrated numbers of students living in poverty. Over 1.5 million more students in California attend high-poverty schools than did in 2006; in Florida, that number is more than 2 million.

This comes as many states still struggle to return to pre-2008 funding levels, as more than half still fund schools at lower levels than before the recession.

Recommended Reading

CityLab: Watch Poverty in School Districts Escalate Before Your Very Eyes