HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Data analyzed by ABC13 finds the number of homeless students in HISD is shrinking.
For the 2025- 2026 school year, district data shows there are 5,741 homeless students.
In the 2023-24 school year, there were 8,199 homeless students, and 6,706 in the 2024-25 school year.
Eyewitness News wanted to know why the homeless student enrollment in HISD is shrinking. We asked the district, which told us there is no one reason fewer homeless students are enrolled at HISD, and that this is the most mobile population of students they serve.
“We know this is one of our most vulnerable populations, and in order for us to be able to support these families, we need to be able to identify and deploy the right services to these families,” Melanie Martinez Gomez, director of HISD Sunrise Centers said.
Martinez Gomez said they identify these students through previous enrollment data, case workers, and school staff who have been trained to identify students in need.
“It’s wonderful work, I love the work that we do,” Martinez Gomez said
The Sunrise Centers are a one- stop shop to help homeless students find housing, food and clothing, the district said.
In 2023, HISD closed its wraparound services department and opened those eight Sunrise Centers. It was a controversial move at the time with critics worrying it would take services away from vulnerable students.
INTERACTIVE: Search the map below to see how many homeless students are at each Houston ISD campus. On mobile device? Click here for a full screen experience.
This map uses the district data we obtained and shows where the homeless student population is increasing and decreasing.
Most of those higher numbers are found at early childhood centers and elementary schools that offer pre-K, predominantly on the east and north sides of Houston.
The district does offer these early education services to families who meet certain income thresholds and receive benefits
Martinez Gomez said it’s a year-round effort to identify unhoused students, keep track of where they are, and keep them at school.
“We are able to do some door knocking, have conversations with case managers who work there to make sure we are getting as many students as we can back. On top of that, we do phone banking for the beginning of the school year so any of those students who dropped out or are coded L98’s which means we don’t know where they are, we call, and we try to make contact to bring those students back,” Martinez Gomez said.
And while the number of homeless students enrolled at HISD may be decreasing, that doesn’t mean fewer school-aged children are unhoused.
Federal data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development says between 2023 and 2024, children under 18 were the age group with the largest increase in how many of individuals experiencing homelessness nationwide.
Back on November 21st, ABC13 obtained this district data, giving us an inside look at student enrollment.
Since then, we have been diving deep. We’ve built resources showing you which schools are gaining students and which schools are losing students.
We have found why students are leaving the district and how a statewide online charter school is giving the district a big enrollment and financial boost.
We fought the district to get this information, but were told the district would not release it until it’s finalized by the state. It took a source inside the district to finally send it to us.
The data we received is extensive, and we’ve worked to break it down so you can better understand how the district student population is shifting and why.
For more news updates, follow Lileana Pearson on Facebook, X and Instagram.
SEE MORE COVERAGE FROM ABC13 ON HISD:
Drop in students enrolled in early childhood education programs, HISD data shows
See what HISD campuses have seen the biggest changes in student population this school year
HISD not answering questions about reversing the decision to close schools in 2026-27 school year
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