4,400 Students Reported Homeless in Miami-Dade

Public schools officials say they counted more than 4,400 homeless students in Miami-Dade County in the last school year.

Officials say homelessness among public school students ages 5 to 17 has jumped 84 percent in the last five years.

The Miami Herald reports that 56,680 students statewide were reported homeless during the 2010-2011 school year. Among those students were 4,406 students in Miami-Dade Public Schools, the fourth-largest school district in the nation.

The Miami-Dade Homeless Trust says the school district defines homelessness to include children living in households with more than one family. The trust says that means the vast majority of the students the school district counted as homeless were living in some form of housing instead of on the streets.