Nearly 340,000 students attend rural schools in Florida, more than all but eight other states. The state ranks 11th among the 50 states in need of rural education attention and improvement. The rural student population is diverse, with high rates of English Language Learner students, special education students, and student poverty. Florida’s rural schools and districts are larger than all but two other states. Rural per pupil instructional spending is the 11th lowest in the U.S., and fewer than 64% of the state’s rural students earn a high school diploma in four years--the seventh worst graduation rate in the country.