JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) -- As public schools begin another year of education, thousands of students across Wisconsin have no permanent home address.

The state Department of Public Instruction says more than 8,000 students were identified as homeless at the end of the 2006-2007 school year.

Mandy Harvey of the Rock River Charter School in the Janesville district says some children leave school for the day and don't know where they're going that night, what they'll eat, if they'll have clothes or access to a shower.

More than 300 student in the Janesville district are homeless. In the Madison Metropolitan School District, more than 600 students don't have a regular residence.

By law, each Wisconsin school district must designate a homeless liaison. That person's responsibility is to enroll homeless children and youth, then help them succeed in school.