The Dropout Epidemic

Poverty. Illiteracy. Family crises. Drug and alcohol abuse. Teen pregnancy. Parents in prison. Gang violence. Crime. When children are faced with that kind of existence, they get an education in survival instead of in the classroom.

As a result of myriad challenges, the public school dropout rate in Texas continues to climb. The Texas Education Agency reports that 16,622 students in grades 7-12 dropped out in 2002, and currently more than half a million Texas public school students are at risk of dropping out.

Economic Realities

Taxpayers will pay now or later for children who do not have the necessary education for a job that pays a living wage. Consider these statistics for the State of Texas:
  • A dropout represents lost revenue—$9,200 less per year than a high school graduate.

  • A dropout is twice as likely to be unemployed, three times more likely to commit a crime and end up in our courts, and six times more likely to become an unwed teen parent.

  • Ninety percent of Texas' state prison inmates are dropouts at a cost of approximately $25,000 per year, per inmate.

  • The cost of juvenile incarceration is over $60,000 per child per year and many of these youth re-enter the criminal courts again and again.