Migrant Education Program

We can help determine eligibility for your student.

A migrant student:

• Is between the ages of 3 and 21; and
• Is entitled to a free public education (through grade 12) under state law, or
• Is not yet at a grade level at which the district provides free public education; and
• Made a qualifying move in the last 36 months as a migratory agricultural worker or fisher, either with or to join a parent/guardian or spouse who is a migratory agricultural worker or fisher; and
• Moved residences due to economic necessity, and
• From one school district to another; or
• Is in a state that has a single school district, has moved from one administrative area to another with such district; or
• Resides in a school district of more than 15,000 square miles and migrates 20 miles or more to a temporary residence.
   

The Migrant Education Program (MEP) provides educational support services to students who have moved into the school district or travel for work within the past three years and whose parents work or have previously worked, or have engaged in any of these activities for personal subsistence: farming/ranching, planting/harvesting field crops, poultry, dairy, food processing, meat packing, sorting/grading/sacking vegetables and/or fruits, seed packaging, hauling fruits/vegetables, canning, orchards, greenhouse/nursery, tree processing/forestry, salal/mushroom picking, irrigation, fishing, shellfish, sod farms, or on the feed lots, and more.

Washington state ranks second in the nation for the number of its migrant students, whose families make an enormous and valuable contribution to our agriculture, fishing, forestry, and dairy industries.

The Migrant Education Program (MEP) is a Title 1, Part C program designed to ensure high-quality education programs and supplemental support services for migratory children.; This includes American Indian and Alaska Native students, whose treaty-protected, migratory lifeways in seasonal locations for fishing and gathering are recognized. 

Students may qualify for MEP supports if the family's job or activity includes temporary or seasonal employment or personal subsistence in agriculture and fishing.

• Personal subsistence: The worker and the worker's family, as a matter of economic necessity, eat the crops, dairy products, or livestock they produce or the fish they catch as a substantial portion of their food intake.
• Agriculture work: Work performed for wages or personal subsistence include production or initial processing of crops, dairy products, poultry, or livestock, and cultivation or harvesting of trees. 
• Fishing: Catching or initial processing of fish or shellfish, and raising or harvesting of fish or shellfish at fish farms, performed for wages or personal subsistence.

If your family has participated in fishing, shell digging, root digging, and/or berry picking and the activities were at least 20 miles away from your primary residence for seven nights or more total for the year), your student may qualify for MEP. 

Children who: 

• Migrate as/with an agricultural worker or parent. 
• Move or have traveled across state or school district boundaries at any time in the last three years to seek work or personal subsistence in crops, dairy products, fishing, livestock, poultry, trees, or plants. 

Children younger than 22 years of age; including American Indian and Alaska Native students, whose treaty-protected, migratory lifeways in seasonal locations for fishing and gathering are recognized.
 

• Comprehensive Support: Services that go beyond academics to address all aspects of a student’s life.
• Access to Resources: A wide network of educational, health, and community resources.
• Personalized Assistance: Every child’s needs are different. We provide tailored support to ensure their success.
• College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP): The CAMP supports students from among the migrant and seasonal farmworker population. CAMP funding is paid to colleges to provide direct student services. Students who have been enrolled in the Migrant Education Program at any point during their K–12 education are eligible for CAMP.
• High School Equivalency Program (HEP): The program helps migratory and seasonal farmworkers (or children of such workers) who are 16 years of age or older and not currently enrolled in school to obtain the equivalent of a high school diploma and, subsequently, to gain employment or begin postsecondary education or training.
   

Antonio Sandifer
Migrant Education Program Director
Equity and World Languages Department Director

Martha Arana
Migrant Education Program Liaison

Margarita Dunlap
Bilingual Liaison

Nancy Cutlip
Family Engagement Liaison

Shawna Kiliz
Migrant Program Records Clerk
Administrative Specialist

Parent involvement is crucial to student success. The Migrant Education Program includes two Parent Advisory Councils (PAC) to help provide input and guidance:

General PAC

The General PAC includes all families actively involved in the MEP and meets several times throughout the school year. These meetings are family-friendly and open to all members, offering valuable opportunities for parents to learn about educational resources, strategies to support their children, and relevant community services. They also provide a chance for parents to offer feedback to program leaders.

Core PAC

The Core PAC is a subgroup of the General PAC that specifically guides and supports the development of the program, meeting quarterly to review program updates and plan collaborative activities.

Want to join the Core PAC? Contact the MEP Liaison.