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LEXINGTON, Ky. (WSAZ/AP) -- Federal education data shows more than 30,000 students in Kentucky are homeless.

A media outlet in Lexington says its analysis shows Kentucky has the nation's highest rate of student homelessness.

The outlet says the number of homeless students in Kentucky has nearly doubled in less than six years, reaching a high of more than 35,000 students in the 2011-2012 school year.

"The kids -- it's never their fault. Never," said Dr. Patsy Lindsey, Director of Pupil Personnel, Title I and Homeless Coordinator at Ashland Independent Schools. "They don't deserve it. They don't want it. Parents don't want it either. Parents are struggling - it's a tough time."

Lindsey says her school district had more than 280 homeless students out of about 3,100 total students last year.

She said the district works closely with five shelters in the area, including Shelter of Hope in Ashland.

"A lot of times, if the child is constantly going from place to place, there's no sense of stability," said Debbie Sivis, executive director of Shelter of Hope.

The shelter helps families find affordable housing and hopefully a permanent home.

"They need a place to go," Sivis said. "We council them; we guide them. We help them get in contact with landlords. We help them find the resources to get into housing and then we can use some of our grant funds to help subsidize their housing until a federal subsidy takes over."

Sivis said the shelter works with Boyd and Greenup counties. She said there is a lack of affordable housing, especially in Ashland.

Lindsey said the high number can be partly attributed to the tough economy and job loss. However, she said the high number is not necessarily a bad thing. She said she thinks Kentucky probably doesn't have the highest rate of homelessness, but is just the best at tracking the homeless and getting them help.

"That's one of the reasons so many of them [homeless families] ave come to this area," Lindsey said. "Because we do have services that we can provide for them."

In 2013-2014, the number dropped slightly to a little more than 31,000. But that's still far more than the 17,716 homeless students recorded in 2006-2007.

Under definition by the U.S. Department of Education, children are considered homeless if they are living in a shelter, motel or campground, car, outside or with another family member due to loss of housing or economic hardship.

According to the data, here are some of the student homelessness rates in our region:

Lawrence County: 740 students homeless

Carter County: 857 students homeless

Boyd County: 455 students homeless

Lewis County: 194 students homeless

Greenup County: 407 students homeless

Elliott County: 109 students homeless

Johnson County: 14 students homeless

Martin County: 7 students homeless

Floyd County: 81 students homeless

Pike County: 580 students homeless