Nearly 300,000 K-12 students in California experienced homelessness in the 2024–25 school year, according to new research from the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools. This represents a new statewide high and a 10 percent increase from the 2017–18 school year.
While researchers noted that the Legislature recently made a historic $116 million one-time investment to identify and support students experiencing homelessness, addressing the challenges of youth homelessness must be prioritized on an ongoing basis.
“Addressing student homelessness requires more than reactive measures; it demands a coordinated, systemic response that combines targeted state and local interventions, extension of federal protections, and integrated supports across education, housing, and social services,” the report states. “Prioritizing stability, equity, and access to high-quality education is critical to ensure that students experiencing homelessness can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. By strategically focusing resources where they are most needed and strengthening the systems that support students, California has the opportunity to turn the tide of this crisis and provide all children and youth with a fair and equitable chance to succeed.”
Key findings
Widening gaps
Black and American Indian/Alaska Native students have consistently experienced the highest rates of homelessness, and during the 2024–25 school year, one in 12 students in these groups were impacted. Researchers found that racial disparities overall have widened over time.
Chronic absenteeism was consistently much higher among students experiencing homelessness compared to housed students — representing one factor that is likely impacting academic performance.
Researchers found that the percentage of students experiencing homelessness meeting or exceeding both English language arts and math standards lags behind housed students by about 20 percentage points.
Additionally, students experiencing homelessness exhibit lower rates in all four categories of graduation compared to their peers. Graduation rates among students with stable housing ranged from 84-89 percent, while the cohort graduation rate of students experiencing homelessness ranged from 69-76 percent. Similar gaps were found between homeless youth and their house peers in regard to the rates of those meeting requirements to enroll in the state’s university systems (28-30 percent and 51-55 percent, respectively); earning the State Seal of Biliteracy (7-10 percent and 12-17 percent, respectively); and earning a Golden State Seal Merit Diploma (10-15 percent and 23-34 percent, respectively).
Impacting every region
The study also highlights regional differences. For example, “among districts with at least 500 students, five of the 10 districts with the highest proportion of students experiencing homelessness are on the Central Coast (Monterey and Santa Barbara counties), and most are elementary districts,” according to the report. Four out of those 10 districts are in Monterey County.
However, local educational agencies in more densely populated regions were unsurprisingly found to have the highest count of students experiencing homelessness. Seven of the 10 districts serving at least 500 students with the highest number of students experiencing homelessness are located in districts in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange and San Bernardino counties.
Among counties with at least 1,000 students, six of the 10 counties with the highest rates of students experiencing homelessness are located in mostly rural regions of Northern California — Trinity, Colusa, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt and Mariposa counties.
Recommendations
The report details several recommendations for state policymakers to better support students experiencing homelessness and the local education systems, organizations and other partners that work to ensure these students have what they need to thrive.
Recommendations include:
- Prioritizing targeted regional interventions using new state investments in areas of the state with high rates and numbers of young people experiencing homelessness
- Adopting, strengthening and extending federal policy protections for students experiencing homelessness in California
- Establishing a dedicated funding stream for districts statewide serving both the highest rates and counts of students experiencing homelessness
- Creating stable, integrated systems of supportfor housing-insecure young people
- Monitoring and addressing racial disparities among students experiencing homelessness
- Supporting academic recovery and postsecondary success for students experiencing homelessness
