And the federal and state governments should provide more dedicated funding to help schools assist students experiencing homelessness. Students experiencing homelessness made up almost 4% of California’s kindergarten through 12th grade students during the 2020 to 2021 school year—more than 183,000 students total, according to the California Department of Education. Latino and African American students are disproportionately represented among students experiencing homelessness, making up 74% and 7% of homeless students, respectively, compared with 55% and 5% of the general kindergarten through 12th grade population. In California, most students experiencing homelessness fall into this last category. She worries about other students experiencing homelessness like she and Luke did, but whose parents don’t have the ability to find help and push for interventions.