COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) — The number of Maryland students who are homeless has more than doubled in the past five years, outpacing the increase in homeless children nationally.

According to the Maryland State Department of Education, the number of homeless students has grown from 6,721 to 14,117 in the last school year. The largest increases are occurring in suburban areas around cities. Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties all have seen larger increases than Baltimore City.

Nationally, the number of homeless children has risen 38 percent from 2007 to 2010.

In Howard County, 16-year-old Ryan Johnson tells The Baltimore Sun he often sleeps on a plastic mat next to strangers at a shelter but continues to attend school. He says it’s like a detention every day, even though he didn’t do anything wrong.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)