A new report highlights that nearly three million college students in the U.S. are raising children while enrolled, and only about 18% of student parents earn a degree within six years. The analysis points to persistent structural barriers: the report notes that four in five student parents carry college debt without completing, and that many cannot access reliable child care. It also flags that workforce training programs are frequently missing support for students managing caregiving responsibilities. The stakes extend beyond individual households, according to the report, affecting employers’ access to talent, community tax bases, and economic resilience as automation and AI increase the need for repeated upskilling. The report’s core policy recommendation is redesigning higher education and workforce systems around student parents as a first-class planning constraint—an argument for stronger coordination among higher education, childcare, and workforce development delivery models.