Texas schools see more low-income students

January 4, 2010

The number of students in Texas public schools from low-income families is increasing, according to a state report that also shows a rise in the number of minority students.

The report from the Texas Education Agency said the state is experiencing an enrollment boom in public schools, growing 20 percent over a decade to 4.7 million students last school year. Enrollment in all U.S. public schools increased 8.1 percent.

Last year, poor children made up 57 percent of Texas’ enrollment, up from 48 percent in the 1998-99 academic year.

"Economically disadvantaged students have needs," Sarah Winkler, president of the Texas Association of School Boards and an Alief school district trustee, told the San Antonio Express-News. "The cost of education is going to go up. Every student has to meet the same standards, and some of those students have never seen a book before."

Over the past decade, the racial and ethnic mix in schools also has changed, with enrollment increasing for every ethnic group except whites. In the 2001-02 school year, the number of Hispanic students surpassed whites for the first time.

The newspaper reported that schools are educating many more children whose primary language isn’t English.

Winkler said that to help at-risk students, districts’ focuses need to include preschool programs, parent education, extra tutoring and smaller class sizes.

According to expert testimony in school funding trials, it costs about 40 percent more to educate low-income children.

For the report from the TEA, children were counted as poor if they qualified for free- or reduced-priced school lunches.

A special legislative committee is set to study school funding before state lawmakers reconvene in 2011.

Rep. Rob Eissler, chairman of the House Public Education Committee, said he expects discussion on the cost of educating at-risk students.

"You have more and more kids that are less prepared to do well in school," said Eissler, R-The Woodlands . "Where the expense comes in, you need teachers that have more qualifications. Maybe we need more and better professional development for our teachers."

Steve Murdock, a former state demographer and previous director of the U.S Census Bureau, has projected the average household income in Texas will drop in coming decades.

"It’s going to require a greater effort on the part of the state to make those children competitive," said Murdock, a sociology professor at Rice University.