Desert Hot Springs is part of the Palm Springs Unified School District and is home to nine public schools.

As stated on their website, “The Palm Springs Unified School District is proud to be one of the finest of California’s school districts. A team of over 2,000 outstanding employees is providing a quality education to students in Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Sky Valley, and Thousand Palms some of the fastest growing regions in California.”

Currently PSUSD has sixteen elementary schools, five middle schools, four comprehensive high schools, two continuation high schools, alternative education programs, headstart/state preschools, full-day headstart programs and childcare programs. The District provides a wide array of programs, including special education, instruction for English Learners, Tech Prep, athletics, advanced placement, Title I, Career Technical Education (CTE) career pathways and California Partnership Academies (CPA), Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) a 24/7 laptop program, and many other services.

According to U.S.News & World Reports, students at Desert Hot Springs High scored higher than the state and district average for reading. Overall, the school’s students “performed better than expected” on state exams, given the local demographic makeup.

The Palm Springs Unified School District has an LGBTQ Parent Advisory Committee run by the Family Center. Each school site has at least one trained staff member who is responsible for supporting students who are in need of Gender Support Plans. All district staff must take an annual mandatory training covering the basics of LGBTQ+ issues as they are relevant to the school.

As told by one of our fine teachers, our school district has a non-discrimination policy which states that District programs and activities shall be free from discrimination based on gender, race, color, sex, religion, ancestry, national origin, ethnic groups, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or the perception of one or more of such characteristics. 

All high schools and middle schools in our district have active GSA clubs. GSA previously stood for Gay Straight Alliance. More commonly today it stands for Gender and Sexuality Alliance. It’s a club for LGBTQ+ youth and allies.  Some GSA clubs are activism oriented, while others serve as safe spaces on campus.  PSUSD is working on getting elementary level GSA clubs at every site too. Currently one elementary school site has an active Rainbow Club.