CALPADS Update Flash #295

To:           Local Educational Agency (LEA) Representatives

From:      California Department of Education (CDE) –
                California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) Team

Date:      February 25, 2025

Subject:  CALPADS Update FLASH #295

California Fires – and Homeless Education Program

It is the responsibility of our schools and school districts to enroll homeless students immediately, even when the schools and districts do not have the necessary paperwork required for registration, such as school records, medical records, proof of residency, or other documents. The term “enroll” is defined as attending classes and participating fully in school activities. California’s homeless liaisons need to assist these families with enrolling students and promoting academic achievement. Students who have been displaced by fires or any other natural disaster will generally meet the federal definition of homeless, although this depends on their individual situations. For example, a family that is only displaced for a day or two and can return to their home after a couple of days is not considered homeless; however, it is up to the homeless liaison to make the final determination.

With the recent fires in several counties, CALPADS administrators should coordinate with their local homeless liaisons to identify and accurately reflect the current situation for any student who may have become homeless. For any student who has become homeless, local educational agencies (LEAs) should submit a Student Program (SPRG) record reflecting an Education Program Code of 191 – Homeless Program, using the date that the student became homeless as the program start date. The McKinney-Vento Act defines LEAs as public school districts, direct-funded and locally funded charter schools, and county offices of education.

Since these fires occurred after the 2024−25 Census Day (October 2, 2024), any additional homeless students will not impact the LEA’s Unduplicated Pupil Count (UPC) used to determine supplemental and concentration grant funding under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). It is still important, however, to update the homeless status of students because they may become eligible for homeless services, and it provides for a more accurate cumulative homeless count for California, upon which federal funding is based.

Homeless Definition

Schools offer structure, stability, and support to children and youths displaced by disasters. Typically, these children, youths, and their families are forced to live in a variety of unstable, temporary arrangements, including facilities set up by relief and community agencies. The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children and youths as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes:

• Children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason.
• Children and youths who may be living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or shelters.
• Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for nor ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
• Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings.
• Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are children who are living in similar circumstances as listed above.

Important Reminder

Under California Education Code Section 48851 (located on the California Legislative Information website at: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=48851&lawCode=EDC), school districts must administer a housing questionnaire to all students annually to ensure the identification of children and youths experiencing homelessness. For accuracy of current homeless status, please provide all enrollees with a housing questionnaire.

Please update your data in CALPADS as frequently as possible to help county and state liaisons better plan and provide support to districts experiencing significant increases in homeless student enrollment.

Additional Resources

The National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) operates the U.S. Department of Education’s technical assistance center and offers resources to school districts, their administrators, and homeless liaisons. Access to a variety of resources and materials regarding disaster preparation and response can be found on the NCHE’s Disaster Preparation and Response web page at https://nche.ed.gov/disaster-preparation-and-response. It should be noted that Title I, Part A reservation funds for homeless education can assist these students with additional services, including transportation.

The California Department of Education’s Homeless Education Technical Assistance Center (HETAC) has additional California specific resources and information regarding natural disasters on the HETAC Disaster Preparation and Response web page at https://www.hetac.org/resources/other/disasters.

For additional up-to-date information, please access the California Department of Education (CDE) 2025 California Wildfire Resources web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ep/resforwildfires2025.asp.

To contact the CDE’s Homeless Education Program staff, email the HomelessEd@cde.ca.gov general email address or call their toll-free number at 1-866-856-8214.