07/09/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 07/10/2025 01:14
Despite widespread enrollment declines in California public schools, the number of students experiencing homelessness rose by almost 20,000 in 2024. This is the highest rate of student homelessness in a decade-reaching 4% based on a single day count in October 2024 -with wide variation by district. While cumulative data for 2024-25 is not yet available, rates are historically higher when counting all students who experience homelessness over the course of the year. Students are considered homeless if they lack a regular and adequate nighttime residence. This includes those who are living on the street, in shelters, in motels, in cars, or doubled up with other families due to economic hardship.
Student homelessness rates started to climb in 2022 after a few years of steady declines. Rising costs and longstanding housing challenges are likely important contributors, but the increase may also reflect recent policy changes aimed at better identifying students experiencing homelessness.
In 2021, California received nearly $99 million in temporary pandemic relief targeted to homeless children, enabling districts to hire staff and expand support services. That same year, the state passed legislation to help standardize identification efforts by requiring districts to administer a housing questionnaire to all families.
The ability to better identify students experiencing homelessness likely explains at least some of the rate increase. But digging into district-level data shows that the statewide trend masks significant local variation-only about half of districts (54%) saw any increase in their rates of student homelessness from 2023 to 2024.
This uneven distribution becomes even more pronounced when we compare districts with the largest and smallest homeless student populations. Districts with the highest percentage of homeless students averaged 11% while those with the lowest percentage averaged 0.4% percent. Further, the increase was larger (by 2 percentage points) in districts that already had larger shares of homeless students, whereas those with small shares of homeless students saw a modest decline.
A closer look reveals that rates also vary by the size of districts and by their student composition. In the smallest districts, student homelessness was 1 percentage point higher than in the largest, on average. In districts with the highest concentration of students enrolled in the Free and Reduced Priced Meal (FRPM) program-often used as a proxy for student low-income status-rates were 5 percentage points above those with the lowest FRPM enrollment. Similarly, in districts with higher concentrations of English Learners rates of student homelessness were higher compared to those with the lowest concentration (3 pp difference).
Using census data to look at neighborhood characteristics, we also see geographic and socioeconomic patterns emerge. Districts located in areas with the lowest median incomes, lowest housing values, and highest rates of child poverty have student homelessness rates that are 2-3 percentage points higher than those in more affluent areas. In suburban districts, rates are 1 percentage point lower than those in cities, towns, or rural areas. Rural and city districts had the largest increases in homeless students in the last year.
Homelessness among California students remains a pressing concern, but districts may soon face even more fiscal challenges in identifying and supporting these children. All pandemic-era federal funding expired this school year. The state has committed $1.5 million to continue funding the three regional Homeless Education Technical Assistance Centers, though there is still uncertainty about sustaining district-level expanded support services. The current federal administration's proposed education budget consolidates regular, dedicated funding for homeless students into a broader block grant alongside programs for English Learners, migrant students, and rural schools-potentially diluting targeted resources.
PPIC research has shown that few districts allocate state dollars to directly support homeless students. With improved identification systems, districts have gained clearer data about student needs but translating that into sustained support will require stable funding mechanisms and targeted district-level interventions.