Homeless Student Population at California School District Triples Since 2020

Published on December 8, 2023

The number of homeless students at one California high school district has tripled over the past three years. The East Side Union High School District in San Jose, California has approximately 900 homeless students—up from 300 homeless students in 2020, local news outlet the San Jose Spotlight recently reported. A spokesperson for the East Side Education Foundation—a nonprofit that supports San Jose’s eastside schools—told the news outlet that the number rose because the state definition of “homeless” was expanded in 2016 under federal law to include not only those living on the streets, but those living in cars, those who live with other families in cramped spaces, and those who are “couch surfing,” meaning having no permanent home....