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Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

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Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

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There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

Report: Rural Idaho sees struggles in education compared with nation

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Thursday, January 11, 2024   

A new report highlights Idaho's need to focus on rural education during the upcoming legislative session.

The National Rural Education Association's Why Rural Matters 2023 ranks Idaho in the bottom half of states for its support of rural students.

Executive Director of the National Rural Education Association, Allen Pratt, said a few of the data points show where the state is struggling.

"You can look at things like the number of students per school counselor or school psychologist - that's always a big issue," said Pratt. "So, it's 387 to one. So one guidance counselor or school psych to 387 students. That's a pretty high number."

In his State of the State address on Monday, Gov. Brad Little said education should be among the top priorities for legislators this session.

Idaho also ranked low in measures such as the percentage of rural school-aged children who lack health insurance, which was nearly 10%.

Idaho's lowest marker was for the amount of instructional money spent per rural student. Allen said the state ranks last.

"You're looking at $4,900-per-pupil instructional expenditure," said Pratt. "That's kind of alarming."

While the report shows there's room for improvement, Allen noted that there are some highlights for Idaho.

The state ranks high for the number of high school students who graduate compared with their urban and suburban counterparts, for example.




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