California's K-12 homeless student enrollment reached 298,254 in the 2024-25 school year, the highest figure on record and a 10 percent increase from the pre-pandemic peak in 2018-19, according to a UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools analysis of California Department of Education data. The report, which covers seven years of data from 2017-18 through 2024-25, documents sharp racial disparities and persistent gaps in attendance, academic proficiency, graduation, and college-going between homeless and housed peers.
Of the 298,254 homeless students, 83.8 percent were living doubled-up in temporary housing with another family, 6.7 percent were in temporary shelters, 5.6 percent in hotels or motels, and 3.9 percent were unsheltered, according to CDE's DataQuest system. Cumulative enrollment across the state was 5,965,383.
Racial disparities and academic gaps
Black and American Indian or Alaska Native students experienced homelessness at the highest rates, approximately 1 in 12 in 2024-25, and these racial disparities have been persistent and widening over time, according to the UCLA report.
Students experiencing homelessness scored about 20 percent lower on state standardized math and reading tests than their housed peers. Chronic absenteeism was consistently much higher among homeless students, with most gaps remaining persistent or widening over the seven-year period, the UCLA analysis found.
Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties together account for about half of the state's students experiencing homelessness. About 62,000 students, or nearly 5 percent of enrollment, experienced homelessness in Los Angeles County in 2024-25. A separate UCLA analysis found that Los Angeles County's student homelessness rose nearly 30 percent between 2022-23 and 2023-24, surpassing both California and national growth rates.
New state funding replaces expired federal aid
California's 2026-27 budget includes a one-time, three-year competitive grant program totaling $116 million to help schools identify and support students experiencing homelessness. It is the first time the state has dedicated funding specifically for this purpose.
Federal McKinney-Vento grants to California totaled about $15 million annually before the pandemic. In 2021, California received nearly $100 million in one-time federal American Rescue Plan funding for homeless student identification and support. Those funds have since expired. School staff reported that the federal money was critical for hiring identification staff, distributing gas cards, and providing short-term motel stays, EdSource reported.
Washington state allocated its own money to replace expiring federal American Rescue Plan funds for homeless student identification and support, becoming one of the few states to create a dedicated state funding stream before California's $116 million allocation, according to EdSource. During the 2018-19 school year, only 73 of California's nearly 2,300 local education agencies were awarded federal McKinney-Vento grants, and only 103 applied, illustrating the competitive grant structure's limited reach.
Research on funding and outcomes
The UCLA 'State of Crisis 2026' report found that students experiencing homelessness lag significantly behind housed peers across all examined outcomes, with most gaps remaining persistent or widening over the seven-year period. A Public Policy Institute of California report cited by EdSource found that homeless students account for less than 1 percent of planned spending under California's Local Control Funding Formula, the state's primary education funding mechanism, indicating the state does not proportionally direct resources to this population through that formula.