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"Grissom is among the almost half-million low-income elders and people with disabilities being initially enrolled in the state's new program, and many have been confused by CMC's complexities, leaving them uncertain of whether they will be able to remain with their current doctors and other health care providers. If successful, the state would expand the program to 1.1 million people in all 58 counties."

"A long-running complaint that requirements for Florida's Bright Futures scholarships discriminated against minority high school graduates was closed by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights last week, which says it found "no evidence of intentional discrimination." What it did find "statistically significant disparities, by race, even among otherwise qualified applicants" should still get lawmakers' attention in a state with a rapidly expanding Hispanic population and where African-American students have been less likely in recent years to enroll in state universities."

"A longitudinal study has found that while higher income children eat worse at school, low-income kids eat healthier than at home. While the political controversy rages over federal efforts to manage local school lunch programs, more data on who has actually been helped by the program over time is needed. The results in Preventive Medicine showed that fruit and vegetable intake was higher among low income adolescents on days when they consumed meals at school. The opposite was true for high income adolescents who consumed fewer fruits and vegetables when school was in session, compared to summer months. While in school, all students consumed fruits and vegetables with similar frequency regardless of income level."

"Mayor Bill de Blasio and Cardinal Timothy Dolan joined forces Thursday to break ground at a new community housing development in the Bronx. The Artsbridge Building in the borough's Highbridge section will boast 61 apartments for low-income people aged 62 and older, 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reported."

"Across the state, too many of our students are not succeeding in college, while the job market increasingly demands college degrees. Three quarters of the new jobs created by 2020 will require post-high school education, but only 56 percent of Massachusetts public four-year college students graduate from college in six years. That is a mismatch with serious consequences for our students, their families and continued economic growth in our state."

"The demographics of North Hills School District have changed over the past six years, with increases in the number of students coming from lower-income families and in the number of students with autism. But students continue to perform well on state assessments, Jeff Taylor, assistant superintendent for curriculum, assessment and special programs, told school board members Dec. 2."

"For the first time ever, more than half of Kansas' K-12 students qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches based on low family incomes, according to state data released Tuesday. As of last school year, 50.3 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That compares with 45.6 percent in 2010 and 32.2 percent in 2000."

"Two Long Island institutions of higher learning are among the recipients of grant money issued Monday by the state to assist and encourage the college enrollment of more low-income, minority and underserved students in the region."

"Do high-stakes tests so-called accountability reduce test score gaps? A little fact checking is in order. The cities that have been most obsessed with high stakes testing have seen no test score improvements for black, Hispanic, and low-income students. Nationally, the black-white test score gap has been shrinking for decades, but the introduction of high-stakes tests did not improve results."

"High-poverty schools tend to have lower achievement than low-poverty schools. Milwaukee's highest-poverty schools serve racial minorities. Milwaukee's black students post some of the lowest achievement scores nationally among black students nationwide in certain grades and subjects."