Los Angeles, CA - April 22:A homeless person sleeps across from Los Angeles City Hall where AHF's Housing Is A Human Right advocates wrap red ribbon around Los Angeles City Hall to symbolize how red tape prevents affordable housing on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
California – The number of homeless students in California’s public schools has surged once again, even as overall student enrollment continues to decline. Data from the 2024–25 academic year reveals that nearly 20,000 more homeless students were enrolled than the year before—a 9.3% increase. Over the last decade, this population has grown by 37%, painting a dire picture of childhood poverty across the state.
School officials attribute the increase to both worsening economic conditions and more effective identification practices. Expanded training, refined data tracking, and one-time federal pandemic funds helped educators better recognize signs of housing instability among students—especially those not traditionally considered homeless, such as families living doubled up in trailers or with relatives.
In some communities, like the Coachella Valley, the number of homeless students has tripled in a year, as economic pressure, deportations, and the constant threat of eviction have uprooted families. Other rural districts, such as those in Mendocino County, have been hit by job losses in declining industries, leaving families without reliable income or housing options. In one school district there, the number of identified homeless students jumped from one to 199 in a single year—largely due to improved identification efforts made possible by temporary federal grants.
At the heart of California’s homeless education response is the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, a federal law requiring schools to identify and support students experiencing homelessness. However, the funding for this law has been insufficient, if not rare. In 2022–23, just 6% of California school districts received any funding under the program, and the total allocation for the state was less than $15 million.
Temporary pandemic-era funding through the American Rescue Plan brought a much-needed boost: $98.76 million was distributed to districts across the state. Many used the funds for direct student support, hiring liaisons, providing motel stays, or offering transportation. But that money is now running out—and there are no plans to replace it.
Without new investments, school staff warn they will be forced to scale back services just as more students fall into homelessness. The consequences could be long-term. Advocates say students who go unidentified and unsupported face a much higher risk of chronic homelessness as adults.
Though the state has allocated billions for homelessness more broadly, few of those dollars reach children and families living in unstable housing. As identification efforts stall and resources shrink, California schools are bracing for the likelihood that many of the state’s most vulnerable students will simply slip through the cracks.
