2.8 million

Fewer students are being booted from class for misbehavior than in previous years. Yet 2.8 million students still received out-of-school suspensions during the 2013-14 school year, the most recent year for which data is available. A disproportionate percentage of those students were children of color or children with disabilities, which has prompted the Obama administration to frame school discipline as a civil-rights issue. Research suggests that students who are kicked out of school are much more likely to struggle as adults. Yet the administration’s support of concepts like restorative justice, which keep kids in school, has left some teachers feeling abandoned.

6

According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, around 6 percent of students enrolled in U.S. public schools attend charter schools. That translates to not quite 3 million students nationally, and a more than 60 percent increase since 2010. That number could rise even more dramatically in the coming years if the Trump administration succeeds in its mission of expanding school choice. Betsy DeVos, who is set to become the next U.S. secretary of education, has supported efforts to expand access to both charter schools and vouchers, which let students use public money to pay for private school. While her pro-charter views have earned her praise from a number of Republicans, teachers’ unions have repeatedly alleged that charters harm traditional public schools.

30

Pinning down the exact number of first-generation college students (or even whom that term covers) is difficult, but the general consensus seems to be that at least 30 percent of today’s college students are the first in their families to pursue higher education. These students are less likely than their peers from families who have experience with college to graduate on time. So, as more first-generation students make their way to college, schools are grappling with how to serve them, whether that means developing mentor programs or even sending students text reminders about financial-aid deadlines. There’s still plenty of room for improvement, both when it comes to expanding access to higher education and to helping students succeed once they reach campus.

This article is part of our Next America: Higher Education project, which is supported by grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Lumina Foundation.

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