Minority, poor students now the majority in South

NEW YORK - The South has become the first region in the country where more than half of public school students are poor and more than half are members of minorities.

That's according to a new report from the Southern Education Foundation which is to be released today.

The New York Times reports that contributing factors include an influx of Hispanics and other ethnic groups in the South, as well as the return of blacks to the South and higher birth rates among black and Latino families.