The number of rural children enrolled in after-school programs has dropped nationally compared with a previous tally seven years ago, according to a new study released today by the Afterschool Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit. Eleven percent of America’s rural children are enrolled in an after-school program, down from 13% in 2014. According to the new survey, some 4.5 million rural children who are not in an after-school program would be enrolled if a program were available, their parents say. That’s a 43% increase since the study was last conducted in 2014. Rural children of color and rural children from families with low incomes are most likely to be without the after-school programs their parents want for them. The unmet need for summer learning programs has also surged in rural communities. The new study finds that cost and transportation are significant barriers that prevent many rural parents from enrolling their child in an after-school program. “The inequities in terms of access to after-school and summer learning programs are profoundly troubling,” said Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance. Increasing access to both after-school and summer learning programs must be an urgent priority for lawmakers and funders,” she said. The full report can be found on the nonprofit’s website.