California budget adds $116 million for homeless students

Nearly 300,000 students in California were identified as experiencing homelessness in 2024-25, according to state data. However, homeless student advocates say that number is likely an undercount because it’s challenging to identify homeless students. With dedicated funding, schools can hire specialized staff trained to identify students facing housing instability and develop longer-term support programs.

“There is a great need, but the hard part with this population is you have to find them and identify them, and we have never funded that,” Margaret Olmos, senior director at the National Center for Youth Law, said.

For years, Olmos and other advocates urged California lawmakers to provide state funding dedicated to homeless students, arguing that the federal McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act allocation — about $15 million annually to California — was insufficient to meet districts’ needs.

This year’s 2026-27 budget includes a one-time, three-year competitive grant program totaling $116 million. Although advocates had hoped for an ongoing funding stream, they called the allocation a significant step forward.

“Short-term money is very, very difficult for schools to utilize,” Olmos said.

Why dedicated funding?

California schools already can use several funding buckets to support students experiencing homelessness, including funding for community schools, Title 1 for schools to support low-income students, and supplemental dollars via the Local Control Funding Formula.

But those funding sources can help students only after they have been identified as experiencing homelessness. The state’s $116 million investment is intended primarily to help schools find eligible students and connect them with services, according to the budget trailer bill.

“Whether it’s community school funding or other funding that California’s providing for its students, if homeless students aren’t identified, if they don’t have regular transportation, a way to get to school, has somebody who’s attending to all those other needs — they’re not going to be able to benefit from those other investments,” said Barbara Duffield, executive director of SchoolHouse Connection, an organization that advocates for homeless students.

Identifying students can be difficult if families are reluctant to disclose housing instability or do not realize they are considered homeless under federal law and thus qualify for services.

Under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, student homelessness is defined more broadly than it is for the general population under the more commonly used definition from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Under McKinney-Vento, students are considered homeless if they lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence — including many who are temporarily living with relatives or friends because of economic hardship.

This definition includes students living “doubled-up,” meaning families who share housing due to economic hardship. The HUD definition doesn’t include families who are doubling up. The great majority of California’s homeless students live “doubled-up,” but they could go uncounted if they or people offering support are not aware of the different definitions of homelessness.

In recent years, California has taken steps to improve identification and access to resources.

A 2022 state law, for example, requires schools to administer an annual housing questionnaire and report the results to the California Department of Education. Schools are also required under federal law to designate homeless liaisons responsible for identifying students and connecting them with services.

During Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration, billions have been allocated to address homelessness statewide, with a small percentage set aside for youth. Some county offices of education have applied for and received grants via that program, but funds are exclusively for housing, and not for services such as transportation, food assistance, clothing, school supplies and more that students need.

Olmos and other advocates say that this is where schools come in. School staff work to identify homeless students, though often with little to no dedicated funding.

A teacher or classroom aide might notice a student whose grades have slipped, or another’s who has an unkempt appearance. An attendance team might note sudden increased absences and might know they should flag a homeless liaison.

In many cases, further conversations reveal that a family recently lost housing, cannot afford basic necessities or lacks reliable transportation to school.

California received just over $14 million in McKinney Vento dollars during the 2025-26 school year, distributed among 151 of the state’s more than 900 school districts and 58 county offices of education. An additional $1.5 million was allocated to support the state’s technical assistance center, jointly managed by the Los Angeles, Contra Costa and San Diego county offices of education. The homeless liaisons for each of these three large counties answer questions submitted by liaisons or school staff from other districts, help train new liaisons and offer webinars on McKinney Vento requirements, among other things.

Because federal funding for student homelessness nationally has remained flat nationwide for at least three years — about $129 million annually — advocates say California cannot rely on significant increases from Washington.

The state’s $116 million will “signal to other states that there’s a way forward, but also that, within California, this is one-time funding that will help really show policymakers and educators that this needs to be the new normal in California,” Duffield said. “Because there’s no indication that homelessness is going to be down significantly in the next couple years.” 

A proof of concept

Supporters of the new funding point to the federal American Rescue Plan-Homeless Children and Youth, known as ARP-HCY, as an example of the difference dedicated funding can make.

Starting in 2021, through the ARP-HCY program, school districts nationwide received $800 million in one-time Covid-19 relief funding, including $98.76 million for California. Districts used the money to hire homeless liaisons and support staff, provide emergency housing assistance, expand after-school programs and connect families with basic services.

But when the federal government announced in 2024 the funding would not be replenished, some of those programs began ending as well.

Homeless student advocates say California’s new $116 million allocation creates a new opportunity to demonstrate the value of dedicated funding, while also highlighting the challenges of relying on one-time grants.

“I think there’s a lot of lessons to be learned from ARP-HCY,” Duffield said. “How the funds go out, what they can be used for, how the actual disbursement is being tracked. All of that from the get-go.”

If districts can demonstrate measurable results, the hope is lawmakers will make the funding permanent, Olmos said.

“Our North Star has not changed. There has to be dedicated funding to this group that is safe in California moving forward,” she said. “So we have a window to prove that this is a wise investment, and we are really hoping that we don’t lose it.”