A recent study of ninth- and tenth-grade dropouts in North Carolina shows that Hispanic adolescents have the highest early dropout rate among the state's largest ethnic groups. This relationship persists when boys and girls are analyzed separately: Hispanic boys are more likely to drop out early than other boys are, and Hispanic girls are more likely to drop out than other girls. Both Hispanic boys and girls are more likely than their ethnic counterparts to drop out because they move or because they are tending to family (marriage, pregnancy, or leaving to care for other children). Regardless of a student's ethnicity or gender, dropping out of school is likely to have negative consequences for individuals throughout their lives. On average, high school dropouts are less likely to be employed than other adults. High school dropouts tend to have poorer mental and physical health, a greater likelihood of committing criminal acts, and a higher likelihood of becoming dependent on welfare and other government programs than people with higher educational attainment. All of these consequences translate into high social costs in the form of costs for incarceration, income-transfer programs, and foregone tax income. Every year, states spend significant resources on dropout-prevention programs. As Hispanics have a high dropout rate and a unique dropout profile, current programs may not benefit them as much as they benefit other students. The report urges further analysis of the reasons behind the dropout rate of this relatively new group of North Carolinians in order to craft effective dropout-prevention programs for them. (Contains 8 endnotes and 1 table.) [This brief was produced by the Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy.]