Definition: Percentage of students ages 5-17 enrolled on census day who are eligible to receive free or reduced price school meals (e.g., on census day in the 2021 school year, 58.8% of California students were eligible to receive free or reduced price school meals).
Data Source: California Dept. of Education, Free or Reduced-Price Meal (Student Poverty) Data; National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics (Jul. 2021).
Footnote: Years presented are the final year of a school year (e.g., 2020-21 is shown as 2021). Census day is the first Wednesday in October. In California, students are eligible for free or reduced price school meals if their family income falls below 185% of their federal poverty guideline (e.g., $48,470 for a family of four in 2020-21), they participate in the CalFresh or CalWORKS programs, they are eligible for the Migrant Education Program, they are homeless, or are foster youth. The notation S refers to percentages that have been suppressed because fewer than 20 students were eligible for free or reduced price school meals. N/A means that data are not available.
