Information about the Homeless Student Enrollment

Topic Summary

Overview
Data Sources and Timelines
Overview of the DataQuest Reports
Overview of the Downloadable Data File
Homeless Student Enrollment Definitions
Reporting Status Determination
Data Suppression and Privacy

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Overview

In response to requests from educators, policy makers, and stakeholders across the state, the California Department of Education (CDE) has developed the DataQuest Homeless Student Enrollment by Dwelling Type report to provide important information about the experiences of homeless students. Specifically, this report provides a total count of all students who were cumulatively enrolled during the academic year (July 1 to June 30) and, of those students, the number who were reported as being homeless at some point during that time by the most recently reported dwelling type (i.e., dwelling, structure, or location). The homeless student data displayed in this report are collected under the authority of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento Act) (42 United States Code § 11431-11435), as reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015). Additionally, the data reporting categories and student groups included in the DataQuest Homeless Student Enrollment by Dwelling Type report largely align with the annual data file submitted to the U.S. Department of Education through EDPass (FS118 – Homeless Students Enrolled) pursuant to the requirements of the EDFacts Initiative .

Data Sources and Timelines

The DataQuest Homeless Student Enrollment by Dwelling Type report and supporting downloadable data file utilize cumulative enrollment and student program data submitted to the CDE by local educational agencies (LEAs) through the annual CALPADS End-of-Year 3 (EOY 3) data submission. These data, which are submitted, reviewed, and certified by LEAs in CALPADS between May and August each year, include cumulative enrollment, grade level, and demographic information, as well as homeless student enrollment data, including associated dwelling type information. When the annual CALPADS EOY 3 submission closes, the CDE extracts the necessary homeless student enrollment data and compiles this information for the DataQuest Homeless Student Enrollment by Dwelling Type for the related academic year.

Overview of the DataQuest Reports

The following state-wide Homeless Student Enrollment reports are publicly available on DataQuest for multiple academic years:

• Homeless Student Enrollment by Dwelling Type
  
• Homeless Student Enrollment by Dwelling Type (with County Data)

These DataQuest Homeless Student Enrollment reports are also available at the county-, district-, and school-levels.

Using the Homeless Student Enrollment Reports

Similar to other DataQuest reports, the Homeless Student Enrollment reports include expandable (+) Report Description, (+) Report Glossary, and (+) Report Options and Filters sections at the top of each report. Within the expandable (+) Report Options and Filters sections, users will find the following sub-sections that include a number of useful report options and data filters:

• Report Selection: Within this area, users can select different Homeless Student Enrollment reports, select a county, district, or school, and change the report year.
  
  
• Data Type Options: Within this area, users can select how the data are viewed within the report; either by Race/Ethnicity, Student Group, Grade Level, or Academic Year (Multi-Year). The default report configuration is by Race/Ethnicity. Within this area, users can also select reports that show data for all counties in the state, all districts in a county, or all schools in a district.
  
  
• Report Filters: Within this area, users can apply a variety of school type filters (i.e., charter/non-charter and alternative/regular schools), gender filters, and a filter that will display data by unaccompanied youth status. Additionally, users can apply one or more filters simultaneously to view data in a variety of configurations. Applied filters are viewable in the "Filtered Enabled" section above each report where the filters can also be reset. The CDE has also incorporated a report "parameterization" feature into the Homeless Student Enrollment report, which will allow users to share a link to a filtered report.

Charter School Filters

Charter school data are removed by default from all district-level DataQuest Homeless Student Enrollment reports. To include charter school data in district-level reports, select the "Reset Filters" button on district-level reports to show data for "All Schools" OR select the desired School Type filter (i.e., All Schools, Charter Schools, or Non-Charter Schools) from within the expandable Report Options and Filters menu on the DataQuest Homeless Student Enrollment report. Results produced using the School Type report filter on the DataQuest Homeless Student Enrollment reports is based on the charter school status during the year of high school completion.

Note: The "Non-Charter" default filter view is ONLY applicable to district-level reports and associated "Report Totals"”; however, it is NOT applicable to reports or "Report Totals" for other levels (i.e., state-, county-, or school-level reports).

Alternative School Filters

Results produced using the Dashboard Alternative School Status (DASS) report filter on the DataQuest Homeless Student Enrollment are intended to facilitate comparisons of the Homeless Student Enrollment for traditional charter and non-charter schools by allowing for the removal of alternative schools, which generally serve "high-risk" student populations. For more information regarding the current DASS school accountability can be found at Dashboard Alternative School Status.

Overview of the Downloadable Data File

The following Homeless Student Enrollment downloadable data file is publicly available on the CDE website for multiple academic years:

• Homeless Student Enrollment

These files include state-, county-, district-, and school-level Homeless Student Enrollment data disaggregated by race/ethnicity, student group, gender, and academic year. Information about the data elements included in these files and how the data are structured is included in the Homeless Student Enrollment File Structure web page. For detailed examples on how to properly use these data, please refer to the "Using Homeless Student Enrollment Data File" information provided on the file structure webpage.

Homeless Student Enrollment Definitions

In addition to the DataQuest Homeless Student Enrollment report description and glossary, the following definitions and rules provide important information to help users understand how the Homeless Student Enrollment data were processed.

Cumulative Enrollment

Cumulative enrollment is the total number of unduplicated primary and short-term enrollments at a selected entity with an enrollment start date and/or an enrollment end date that falls within the academic year (July 1 to June 30), regardless of whether the student is enrolled multiple times within a school or district. Cumulative enrollment is calculated at each reporting level (e.g., state, county, district, or school) and therefore is not necessarily additive from one reporting level to the next. For example, if a student is enrolled in multiple schools within a district during the academic year, they are counted once at each school, but only once in the corresponding district's cumulative enrollment.

Dwelling Type

The most recently reported dwelling, structure, or location where a homeless student resides during the academic year:

• Temporarily Doubled Up: A temporary residence where a homeless family is sharing the housing of other persons due to the loss of housing, economic hardship, or other similar reasons. On the report, data in this column represent the percentage/number of the Homeless Student Enrollment whose Dwelling Type was reported as being Temporarily Doubled Up.
  
  
• Temporary Shelters: A temporary residence provided for homeless individuals who would otherwise sleep on the street, or a temporary residence provided to individuals in emergency situations. This should not be used for children who are in temporary residences awaiting permanent placement in foster care. On the report, data in this column represent the percentage/number of the Homeless Student Enrollment whose Dwelling Type was reported as being Temporary Shelters.
  
  
• Hotels/Motels: A temporary residence for homeless individuals usually requiring payment or vouchers for lodging and services on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. On the report, data in this column represent the percentage/number of the Homeless Student Enrollment whose Dwelling Type was reported as being Hotels/Motels.
  
  
• Temporarily Unsheltered: A type of residence for homeless individuals that is not meant for human habitation, such as cars, parks, sidewalks, abandoned buildings, campgrounds, trailer parks, bus and train stations, or persons abandoned in the hospital (on the street). A rule of thumb would be to see the dwelling as comparable to an automobile in that it shelters but is not adequate housing. On the report, data in this column represent the percentage/number of the Homeless Student Enrollment whose Dwelling Type was reported as being Temporarily Unsheltered.
  
  
• Missing/Unknown: No dwelling type reported for the homeless student. On the report, data in this column represent the percentage/number of the Homeless Student Enrollment whose Dwelling Type was not reported or is unknown.
  

Homeless Student Enrollment

Homeless student enrollment consists of the total unduplicated number of cumulatively enrolled students who experienced homelessness at any point in time during the academic year at the selected reporting level (e.g., state, county, district, or school).

Unaccompanied Youth

An indication of whether a student who has been identified as homeless during the academic year was not in the direct care of their parent or guardian at any point in time during that academic year at the selected reporting level.

Note: The Unaccompanied Youth report filter is not applicable to Cumulative Enrollment data in the report and the application of the Unaccompanied Youth filter does not affect the data in Cumulative Enrollment report column. Rather, the Unaccompanied Youth report filter is only applicable to the report columns and data that relate to homeless students (e.g., Homeless Student Enrollment and the various Dwelling Types).

Reporting Status Determination

Demographic and student group status determinations for the Homeless Student Enrollment report we made as follows:

• Race/Ethnicity and Gender Status: Information about student race/ethnicity and gender is determined based on the most recent data available in CALPADS at the selected entity.
  
  
• Student Group Status: Information about student group statuses (i.e., English learner, students with disabilities, migrant, and homeless statuses) is based on data available in CALPADS indicating that students belonged to the specified student group at the selected entity during that academic year.
  
  Note: The socioeconomically disadvantaged student group is not included on this report because all homeless students are categorically eligible for free or reduced-price meals and therefore already included in the socioeconomically disadvantaged student group. Additionally, the foster student group is not included on this report because of the minimal overlap between the homeless and foster student groups, which would result in very small N-sizes for this report.
  
  
• Gender: Information about student gender is determined based on the most recent data available in CALPADS at the selected entity during the academic year.
  
  
• Grade Level: Information about student grade-level is determined based on the most recent data available in CALPADS at the selected entity during the academic year.

Data Suppression and Privacy

To protect student privacy, some data may be suppressed (*) and some data filters or report options may be unavailable on certain district-level and school-level reports. Detailed information about the data suppression rules and related report filter and data view restrictions that have been applied to this report are available on the Homeless Student Data Suppression webpage.