Definition: Percentage of students ages 5-17 enrolled on census day, by eligibility to receive free or reduced price school meals (e.g., on census day in the 2021 school year, 52.4% of California students were eligible to receive free school meals).
Data Source: California Dept. of Education, Free or Reduced-Price Meal (Student Poverty) Data (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. Students are eligible for free school meals if their family income falls below 130% of their federal poverty guideline (e.g., $34,060 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. Students are eligible for 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). The notation S refers to percentages that have been suppressed because fewer than 60 total students were enrolled. N/A means that data are not available.
