\r\n \t
  • The housing crisis in the U.S. has led to a rise in unhoused and homeless students in California schools that has increased since the pandemic.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • What can schools do to better support unhoused students? How are student needs changing in the wake of COVID-19?<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Read more about supporting homeless students.<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","intro":null,"content":"As the number of unhoused students in California\u2019s public schools continues to rise to pre-pandemic levels, experts and educators fear that today\u2019s economy paired with the state\u2019s unrelenting housing crisis will lead to unprecedented rates of homeless youth.According to updated data released today by the California Department of Education, there are about 5.9 million students enrolled in public schools this school year, close to 40,000 fewer students than last year or a 0.7% drop. But the number of students experiencing homelessness increased by 9%, about 16,000, to a total of approximately 187,000 kids.The overarching cause of homelessness among all Californians is the perennial shortage of affordable housing in the state, according to Angela James, a researcher at UCLA\u2019s Center for the Transformation of Schools.\u201cIt\u2019s alarming to me, quite frankly,\u201d\u00a0 James said. \u201cHousing instability may be deepening in California as a result of the pandemic.\u201dThe new data signals a return to pre-pandemic numbers. Last school year, about 2.9% of students qualified as homeless. The percentage is up to 3.2% this year, about the same as it was in 2019-20.\u201cAs a state we have not made the housing and well-being of our population a priority,\u201d James said. \u201cSadly, social policies have not been responsive to the needs of young people and their families.\u201dExperts struggle to explain why homeless numbers dropped during the pandemic. They said students and their families may have been moving around during the early months of quarantine, so they may not have been counted. Or unhoused students may have just been falling through the cracks.\u201cIn some cases, districts could be getting better at identifying students,\u201d said Dion Burns, a senior researcher at the\u00a0Learning Policy Institute.Student homelessness rose this year for the first time since 2020. The count includes students living in motels, trailer parks, campgrounds or public spaces.While statewide numbers indicate a return to pre-pandemic levels, 13 of the 20 largest districts in the state have more students experiencing homelessness now than they did in the 2019-20 school year. At one district, Kern High, the number more than doubled.","html_content":"

    As the number of unhoused students in California\u2019s public schools continues to rise to pre-pandemic levels, experts and educators fear that today\u2019s economy paired with the state\u2019s unrelenting housing crisis will lead to unprecedented rates of homeless youth.<\/p>

    According to updated data released today by the California Department of Education, there are about 5.9 million students enrolled in public schools this school year, close to 40,000 fewer students than last year or a 0.7% drop. But the number of students experiencing homelessness increased by 9%, about 16,000, to a total of approximately 187,000 kids.<\/p>

    The overarching cause of homelessness among all Californians is the perennial shortage of affordable housing in the state, according to Angela James, a researcher at UCLA\u2019s Center for the Transformation of Schools.<\/p>

    \u201cIt\u2019s alarming to me, quite frankly,\u201d\u00a0 James said. \u201cHousing instability may be deepening in California as a result of the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>

    The new data signals a return to pre-pandemic numbers. Last school year, about 2.9% of students qualified as homeless. The percentage is up to 3.2% this year, about the same as it was in 2019-20.<\/p>

    \u201cAs a state we have not made the housing and well-being of our population a priority,\u201d James said. \u201cSadly, social policies have not been responsive to the needs of young people and their families.\u201d<\/p>

    Experts struggle to explain why homeless numbers dropped during the pandemic. They said students and their families may have been moving around during the early months of quarantine, so they may not have been counted. Or unhoused students may have just been falling through the cracks.<\/p>

    \u201cIn some cases, districts could be getting better at identifying students,\u201d said Dion Burns, a senior researcher at the\u00a0Learning Policy Institute<\/a>.<\/p>

    Student homelessness rose this year for the first time since 2020. The count includes students living in motels, trailer parks, campgrounds or public spaces.<\/p>

    While statewide numbers indicate a return to pre-pandemic levels, 13 of the 20 largest districts in the state have more students experiencing homelessness now than they did in the 2019-20 school year. At one district, Kern High, the number more than doubled.<\/p>

    Read the full article about homeless students by Joe Hong and Erica Yee at The 74.