TITLE I MIGRANT EDUCATION PROGRAM
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Federal Definitions
- Migratory Child
- Very specific conditions define an eligible migrant child. This definition is extracted directly from the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, and is to be used when certifying children to be served in the Title I Migrant Education Program.
A migratory child means:
A child who is, or whose parent or spouse, is, a migratory agricultural worker, including a migratory dairy worker, or migratory fisher; and
Who, in the preceding 36 months, accompanies such parent or spouse in order to obtain temporary or seasonal employment in agricultural or fishing work
- has moved from one school district to another;
- in a state that is comprised of a single school district, has moved from one administrative area to another within such district; or
- resides in a school district of more than 15,000 square miles, and migrates a distance of 20 miles or more to a temporary residence to engage in a fishing activity.
- Migratory Agricultural Worker
- A migratory agricultural worker is a person who, in the preceding 36 months, has moved from one school district to another, in order to obtain temporary or seasonal employment in agricultural activities (including dairy work) as a principal means of livelihood.
- Agricultural Activity
- An agricultural activity is any activity directly related to the production or processing of crops, dairy products, poultry, or livestock for initial commercial sale or personal subsistence.
Examples
Some examples of qualifying activities include, but are not limited to:
- Production and harvesting of crops such as: asparagus, potatoes, fruits, hops, and nuts;
- Processing and storage activities such as: freezing, canning and packaging agricultural goods for commercial sale;
- Ranch and dairy duties related to the production/processing of milk and meat including the cattle feeding for meat production;
- Production and harvesting of horticultural crops such as: flower bulbs, plants, mushrooms, herbs and sod;
- Cultivating and harvesting of trees for Christmas or for reforestation; and
- Forestry activities consisting of reforestation, thinning and vegetation control.
- Migratory Fisher
- A migratory fisher is a person who, in the preceding 36 months, has moved from one school district to another, in order to obtain temporary or seasonal employment in fishing activities as a principal means of livelihood.
- Fishing Activity
- A fishing activity is any activity directly related to the catching or processing of fish or shellfish for initial commercial sale or personal subsistence.
Examples
Some examples of qualifying activities include, but are not limited to:
- Ocean trollers, purse seiners, gill-netters and reef fishing for the purpose of catching fish for commercial sale;
- Types of fish, e.g.: salmon, oyster, crabs, shrimp and bottom fish (rock, flat, lingcod);
- Fresh and salt-water fishing and fishing in or on inherited fishing grounds as well as in public waters.
- Principal Means of Livelihood
- Principal means of livelihood was incorporated into the definition to focus migrant education services on children who are truly migratory, e.g., children in families with an actual, significant dependency on migratory agricultural or fishing work for their livelihood. This requirement was intended to correct a situation in which persons who move across school district boundaries to perform temporary or seasonal agricultural or fishing activities for only a short time are considered "migratory" under the MEP, even when they do not have a significant dependence on the agricultural or fishing activities.