They make up one-fifth of the school-age population in the United States and will be 30% of the adult population by 2050.

CNN: Student's success defies all odds

Their numbers doubled between 1980 and 2009, and they now make up 21 percent of school-age kids.

NPR: Instruction Of Students Learning English Bleak

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott have warned that schools would have to freeze hiring and cut after-school activities and other programs to make up for the midyear funding cut.

WSJ: Judge Blocks Cuomo Cuts for Schools