As reported in the Chestertown Spy, 1.7% of students enrolled in all Maryland public schools — 14,691 — had no permanent place to call home during the 2011-2012 school year, the latest year for which data was available from the Maryland State Department of Education.

Kent, Wicomico, and Charles counties have the highest percentages of homeless students in the state of Maryland – up to 9.12%, according to data presented in the article.  Charles, Cecil and Baltimore City have homeless student populations of around 3%.

According to the article, the percentage of homeless students in Maryland has increased in recent years.

The Maryland State Department of Education data shows that the percentage of homeless students enrolled in Maryland public schools has increased by 0.17 percentage points since the 2009-2010 school year.

 The recession helped drive the increase, with foreclosures and unemployment hitting poor and middle class families hard, according to homeless population experts. A report by the National Center on Family Homelessness found that the recession left one in 45 children homeless.

For more information, see the full story from the Spy and this information from the Maryland State Department of Education Homeless Education Assistance program.