A new proposal in the California legislature is drawing sharp criticism and national attention after a Democratic lawmaker introduced a bill that would allow college students to sleep in their cars on school property. Assemblyman Corey Jackson is pitching the idea as a short-term solution to the state’s growing student homelessness crisis—but critics say it’s just the latest sign of failure from California’s progressive leadership.

The bill would create a pilot program across five California State University campuses and 20 community colleges, setting aside secure campus parking lots where homeless students could sleep in their vehicles overnight. Jackson, who pushed the bill through the Assembly Higher Education Committee last month, argued that while sleeping in a car is “not ideal,” it’s better than students being forced to find refuge on unsafe streets or in isolated lots.

“While emergency shelter in a vehicle is not ideal, it seems just a student knowing they may have a place to shelter will go a long way,” Jackson said during a prior hearing, defending his bill as a humanitarian response to an untenable situation.

But critics from both sides of the aisle aren’t buying it—and many say this legislation highlights the brutal cost of California’s liberal housing policies.

“This is a consequence of policy failures coming from a liberal agenda that refuses to allow for the building of more housing,” said Republican Rep. Vince Fong, whose district includes CSU Bakersfield and Bakersfield College. “California doesn’t need more parking lots—we need real solutions that cut red tape and end frivolous litigation so we can unleash housing development and build real roofs with real beds.”

Fong’s remarks reflect growing frustration in the state, where homelessness and housing affordability are spiraling out of control. According to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, nearly half a million students at community colleges experienced some form of homelessness in 2023. The Hope Center found that nearly 20% of California students were homeless last year, and 60% reported general housing insecurity.

That growing crisis has left students like Cameron Jones—an Afghanistan veteran now sleeping in his car at a Safe Parking LA site—without anywhere else to turn. Jackson’s bill would build on efforts like those at Long Beach Community College (LBCC), which launched a Safe Parking Program in 2022 to help students who were already living in their vehicles.

LBCC’s program, which cost $200,000 to launch, allowed a small group of eligible students to park and sleep safely overnight on campus. Amenities included Wi-Fi, bathroom access, and limited shower availability. But the initiative only served a handful of students, and eligibility was restricted to individuals without families or spouses.

Even so, LBCC’s president, Mike Muñoz—who once lived in his car while attending college—defended the idea. “I know what that feels like,” he said. “We knew 70 students with real names and ID numbers were sleeping in their cars.”

Still, education advocates and community college leaders are expressing deep reservations. Nune Garipian, a policy director at the Community College League of California, warned lawmakers that diverting resources to fund parking lot programs could undercut more effective long-term strategies like rental subsidies, hotel vouchers, and supportive housing.

“Establishing an overnight student parking program would require significant financial and administrative resources,” Garipian said. “Our colleges unfortunately just do not have these resources available.”

Jackson’s bill mandates that participating colleges launch their parking programs by July 2025, which critics say gives little time to prepare or coordinate the security and support services needed. And while Jackson claims this is a temporary measure, it’s a stark admission of just how broken California’s housing market has become.

Even more alarming to some observers is the normalization of homelessness as a feature of student life. Rather than address the underlying causes—onerous regulations, environmental litigation delays, and an anti-growth bureaucracy—Democrats in Sacramento are leaning into “solutions” that treat car living as acceptable.

“We’re talking about letting young people live out of cars on school property, and we’re supposed to call this progress?” one parent asked during a recent forum. “Where’s the dignity in that?”

The truth is, California doesn’t lack resources—it lacks priorities. State lawmakers continue to push utopian climate policies, expand sanctuary protections, and fund fringe social programs, all while average Californians can’t afford a place to live. This bill is a band-aid on a self-inflicted wound—and for many voters, it’s the final straw.

If California Democrats won’t build real housing, Republicans argue, they’ll keep building parking lots. And come election time, voters may decide to park their support elsewhere.