A January study found that 11 percent of students on the California State University’s 23-campuses reported being homeless during the past year. At Humboldt State nearly a fifth said they’d been homeless at one point during 2017.
The Los Angeles Unified School District has more homeless students than many school districts have in total enrollment. In response, the district has created some innovative policies.
When a student doesn’t have enough money for lunch, cafeteria staff in many school districts take away the child’s tray of hot food and hand the student a brown paper bag containing a cold cheese sandwich and a small milk.
Research that shows early childhood education can profoundly impact the future success of children. But early childhood educators are still chronically underpaid.
In California, where 76 percent of its K-12 enrollment is students of color, diversifying public colleges and universities is a top priority.