This report and brief from the Learning Policy Institute draws on a 2019 study of high-poverty schools in North Carolina conducted in support of the state’s efforts to comply with the North Carolina Supreme Court’s decision in Leandro v. The State of North Carolina. The study found that high-poverty schools provide inadequate and unequal educational resources and opportunities to their students, due in part to past policy choices, thus denying them a sound basic education. Further, high-poverty schools fail to address adverse out-of-school conditions that inhibit learning and development. Key recommendations outline policy steps to (1) expand high-quality early childhood education; (2) attract, prepare, and retain a diverse, high-quality workforce in high-poverty schools; (3) provide additional time, resources, and capacity in high-poverty schools; and (4) provide resources, opportunities, and supports to address out-of-school barriers to learning, using community schools or other evidence-based approaches.