Florida's average composite ACT score, an average of the scores for the English, math, reading and science sections, was 18.9 out of 36, a big drop from 19.6 in 2014.
The NC Education Lottery is helpful, to a degree. It contributed nearly $11 million to pay off Mecklenburg County's school construction debt last year—money the county wouldn't have otherwise had.
Education officials tell Axios they are trying to enforce vaccination requirements, find classroom space, change bus routes and hire more bilingual teachers to meet the needs of thousands of students who have survived traumatizing migration journeys.
Teenagers fighting drug addiction say going to school can be one of their biggest obstacles, with access to drugs and social, academic and emotional stress creating specific challenges.
