Nearly 45% of Nebraska’s public schools are rural, and almost 65% of its districts have enrollments below the national median. Socioeconomic challenges are below the midpoint with the exception of median household income. The rural student population is moderately diverse, but that is changing rapidly. Nebraska’s instructional salaries are among the nation’s lowest, and the distribution of educational funds is among the nation’s most inequitable. High school graduation rates exceed all but one other state, but scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress are only about average for the nation’s rural schools. Nebraska ranks 38th in the country in need of rural education attention and improvement.