Suzzette Jorgensen stands next to her car is full of her belongings on the morning of Jan. 13, 2022. When it's time to go to sleep, she moves her things around to make room for her to sleep. Suzzette Jorgensen 2
Sacramento, California – In response to California’s worsening housing crisis, a progressive state lawmaker has introduced a controversial bill to allow college students to sleep in their cars on campus as a last resort.
Assemblymember Corey Jackson, a Democrat from Southern California and a former social worker, is behind the proposal, which would require community colleges and California State University (CSU) campuses to establish safe overnight parking programs for students experiencing homelessness. The bill recently passed its first legislative hurdle, clearing the Assembly Higher Education Committee on a party-line vote.
“This just deals with the harsh realities that we find ourselves in,” Jackson said during a recent hearing, emphasizing that while long-term housing solutions are in progress, immediate help is needed.
With rent in California averaging more than 30% above the national norm, student homelessness has reached crisis levels. One in four community college students reported being unhoused in the past year. Jackson’s bill aims to provide a stopgap for those already living out of their cars — a reality he says colleges are too slow to address.
Both CSU and community college systems oppose the bill, citing funding concerns and a preference for permanent housing solutions. Jackson countered that their resistance lacks moral urgency: “We are in a homelessness crisis, and so every single agency needs to do their part.”
A successful pilot program at Long Beach Community College offers a potential model. Since 2021, the school has operated a secure overnight parking site for students, complete with restrooms, showers, and Wi-Fi. Of the 34 students who participated in the 2023–24 academic year, many were over 25, and more than half qualified for financial aid.
“We weren’t having incidents or concerns,” said LBCC Superintendent-President Mike Muñoz, who once experienced homelessness as a student himself. “We saw a need and acted.”
Despite this success, similar bills have failed in the past, including Jackson’s own 2023 proposal, blocked over cost concerns. Critics now question the feasibility of scaling the program statewide and whether it might divert funding from existing housing programs.
Student advocates like Ivan Hernandez, president of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges, argue the bill addresses an existing reality. “We’re not creating the problem — we’re just trying to help students survive it,” he said.
