Ohio has the fifth largest rural student population in the nation at nearly 440,000. Schools serving these students are characterized by moderately high levels of poverty and low levels of student diversity. Minority enrollment in rural areas is increasing more rapidly than in nearly all other states, however. Ohio’s rural schools face a policy context that is among the nation’s worst, with the second lowest level of rural per pupil instructional spending nationally, the 13th highest proportional spending on transportation relative to instruction, and the fifth largest district and school size. The state ranks 36th in the nation in need of rural education attention and improvement.