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"With the homeless student population in the Collinsville school district steadily increasing, the task of educating children who are classified as homeless has become costly."

"However, the so-called achievement gap -- the gap between white and middle-class students compared to low-income and minority students -- widened slightly as the former groups had bigger gains than the latter."

"To ensure that more American children receive that opportunity, I have introduced the Educational Opportunities Act, to create a new federal tax credit for individuals and corporations to help families pay for expanded educational opportunities. The Educational Opportunities Act will empower parents by allowing their children in grades K-12 to receive a scholarship to be used toward private school tuition and related expenses."

"Illinois has just over 800 students in its eight state youth prisons. The average young inmate enters scoring between the fifth- and sixth-grade level in reading, and Gaffey said school records and the teens' own stories suggest that elementary-grade truancy is increasing across the state amid rising rates of child poverty and homelessness."

"Community Research Partners found that the state's policy making students at two-year schools ineligible for the Ohio College Opportunity Grant has resulted in college being less accessible to low-income and nontraditional students."

"More than 40 percent of U.S. children attend high-poverty schools and 22 percent of children are living below the poverty line, the government said. Public schools in poor communities have fewer resources, less-experienced teachers and worse facilities than schools in more-affluent communities - an imbalance that must be corrected by state and federal action, the commission said."

"The report said states should adopt finance systems that divided funds equitably, which doesn't mean evenly, the commission said, because some students need more support. It called upon the federal government to use incentives to push states in this direction, and for more money for schools with large numbers of low-income students."

"Westar Energy employees will be in Wichita on Wednesday to help low-income residents apply for assistance in paying their utility bills."

"A report from October 2012 is only the most recent of a long line of studies that show fleeting cognitive gains from Head Start. The rigorously designed study adds that there is little difference in the domains of social-emotional, health and parenting practices' between third-graders who attended a Head Start program and those who did not. The most severe critics object that Head Start has turned into nothing more than a massive jobs program for adults."

"There is no question that the tax-subsidized program has helped at least some low-income children move into private schools that their parents could never have afforded. However, there is also no question that the program has been and continues to be abused."

"Obama's emphasis on high quality is important. Preschool intervention programs vary in quality. But, at their best, they help children make the most of their early learning years at a time when their learning and study habits are being formed. One recent federal evaluation of Head Start, which is aimed at low-income preschoolers, found parents benefited, too, by learning to use appropriate discipline techniques and learning to spend more time reading to their children."

"Moreover, Obama's push for universal preschool acknowledges something that N.C. lawmakers should take note of: The kind of quality preschool that North Carolina has been providing is an economic tool. It is not only a lure for businesses, but increases the tax-paying base and saves the state money long-term. Research shows low-income students benefit significantly. They succeed better academically, graduate from high school more often and are more economically productive later in life."