Kern’s Chronically Absent Student Count Fell Overall but Rose Among Homeless Students

What the records show

BAKERSFIELD — The number of chronically absent students in Kern County's state attendance records fell by more than 4,100 in 2024–25. But the number of chronically absent students identified as homeless moved in the opposite direction, reaching 2,500.

An independent analysis by What's the Scoop with B. Roach of California Department of Education files found a 10.7% drop in the overall count, compared with a 2.4% increase among students identified as homeless. The comparison covers the 2023–24 and 2024–25 school years, not attendance this fall.

The finding comes with a distinction that changes its meaning: the homeless group's chronic-absence rate improved. Its eligible student population grew faster than its number of chronically absent students. A falling rate and a rising number of affected children can both be true.

A larger group, a lower rate — and 2,500 affected students

The records show 2,441 chronically absent students among 6,304 eligible students identified as homeless in 2023–24. The following year, those figures were 2,500 and 7,047. The eligible population increased by 743, or 11.8%, while the affected count increased by 59. Dividing each year's count by its eligible population produces rates of 38.7% and 35.5%.

Across all eligible students in the county-level records, the count fell from 38,607 to 34,474. The overall rate declined from 18.9% to 16.9%. Those county records include charter and non-charter schools and all alternative-school statuses.

The homeless group's 2024–25 rate was still about 2.1 times the overall rate, a gap of 18.6 percentage points. Students in that group represented approximately 3.5% of eligible enrollment but 7.3% of the chronically absent count. These are calculations from the published counts, not estimates of why individual students missed school.

A larger identified population does not establish that 743 additional children became homeless. Identification practices, enrollment changes and movement between schools can affect the figures. The public tables do not separate those explanations.

Four large district groups show different patterns

The four districts with the largest reported eligible homeless student groups in the 2024–25 file did not move together. Bakersfield City recorded fewer chronically absent students in that group and a lower rate. Southern Kern Unified recorded increases in both.

Source: CDE downloadable files; students identified as homeless, all charter statuses and all alternative-school statuses. District counts must not be added to reconstruct the county total.

Kern High illustrates the denominator issue particularly clearly. Its eligible homeless group nearly doubled, while the chronic-absence rate fell. The files establish that numerical pattern; they do not explain the increase in identified students or establish whether an attendance intervention succeeded.

What the measure captures

CDE classifies an eligible student as chronically absent after missing at least 10% of expected attendance days. Eligibility generally requires at least 31 expected instructional days and some actual attendance; specified exemptions also apply. The denominator therefore is not every student enrolled at any point, or a complete count of children experiencing homelessness.

The figures are unduplicated separately at school, district, county and state levels. A student's record can be treated differently at different reporting levels, making simple addition unreliable. Small groups may also be suppressed for privacy. This analysis uses published county totals directly and compares annual populations, not a tracked cohort of the same children.

Existing supports, unmeasured results

Kern's education office describes countywide attendance coalitions that bring school administrators and attendance staff together. It also reports receiving a 2022 Homeless Innovative Programs grant for projects incorporating student perspectives, with attendance among the intended outcomes. The program pages describe intended outcomes, rather than a measured effect on these countywide figures.

Its homeless education guidance explains that eligibility can include families sharing housing because of economic hardship, alongside students in shelters or places unsuitable for sleeping. It describes immediate enrollment and, when requested, transportation to the school of origin among available protections. Families can contact the district homeless liaison or the county program at 661-636-4900. The county program page links to district liaisons.

The attendance files do not identify which students received those services, how quickly assistance arrived or how their attendance changed afterward. They document an improvement in the county's overall attendance picture alongside a persistent disparity and a slightly larger affected homeless student population. They cannot assign a cause or measure the effectiveness of a particular program.

Methodology: Reviewed September 17, 2026. This analysis uses CDE's 2024–25 file updated March 13, 2026, and its 2023–24 file posted November 21, 2024. Counts are district-certified administrative records. No interviews were conducted for this records analysis.