Homelessness among K-12 students in Stanislaus County has risen sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic, with increases seen across all racial groups and school districts. The number of homeless students doubled among Latino and Asian populations over the past five years.
In the 2024-25 school year, 2,932 students in Stanislaus County were identified as experiencing homelessness, marking a 73% increase from the 1,697 reported in the 2019-20 school year. This trend aligns with statewide data from the California Department of Education.
Officials say that additional pandemic funding and new laws requiring schools to ask families about their housing situations have improved identification and support for homeless students since 2021. However, experts at the Public Policy Institute of California note that higher living costs and ongoing housing shortages are also driving these numbers up.
The Turlock Unified School District and Patterson Joint Unified School District saw more than triple the number of homeless students compared to before the pandemic. Ceres Unified School District has had the highest count of homeless students among four major districts examined by The Bee since 2021-22, despite having less than half as many students as Modesto City Schools.
Latino students make up a large portion of those experiencing homelessness: 85% at Ceres Unified, 64% at Modesto City Schools, 51% at Turlock Unified, and 77% at Patterson Joint Unified.
Most homeless students—83%—were “doubled up” during this school year, meaning they stayed with relatives or friends rather than being unsheltered or living in shelters or motels. About 17% were either in shelters or without stable housing.
When asked about psychological and academic challenges faced by these children, the Stanislaus County Office of Education stated: “Every school district in Stanislaus County has a liaison assigned to assist families, children and youth experiencing homelessness or at-risk of becoming homeless.”
Schools offer free meals on weekdays and help arrange transportation for affected students but often cannot meet all basic needs such as food security or stable shelter outside school hours.
Since the pandemic began, many schools have reported more classroom disruptions, violence, chronic absenteeism and other issues. Students experiencing homelessness face particular challenges including increased risk for grade repetition, disciplinary actions, lower graduation rates, social isolation and mental health problems like depression and anxiety according to research from the Learning Policy Institute.
Child Trends reports that over one-third of homeless students are chronically absent—a problem that has grown since COVID-19 disrupted education nationwide. Federal funds provided under the McKinney-Vento Act are generally not enough to address all educational needs for these children.
“Under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, schools in Stanislaus County have a clear, legal role. They are not responsible for ‘fixing’ homelessness, but they are responsible for removing educational barriers,” SCOE said in a statement to The Bee.
