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The Migrant Education Program (MEP) is a federally funded program authorized under Title I, Part C, of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

The purpose of the MEP is to:

• Support high-quality and comprehensive educational programs for migrant children in order to reduce the educational disruption and other problems that result from repeated moves;
• Ensure that migrant children who move among the states are not penalized in any manner by disparities among the states in curriculum, graduation requirements, and state academic content and student academic achievement standards;
• Ensure that migrant children are provided with appropriate educational services (including supportive services) that address their special needs in a coordinated and efficient manner;
• Ensure that migrant children receive full and appropriate opportunities to meet the same challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards that all children are expected to meet;
• Design programs to help migrant children overcome educational disruption, cultural and language barriers, social isolation, various health-related problems, and other factors that inhibit their ability to do well in school, and to prepare them to make a successful transition to postsecondary education or employment; and
• Ensure that migrant children benefit from state and local systemic reforms

Trained recruiters interview families to determine each child's eligibility for the Migrant Education Program. To qualify for the program a migrant child must have meet the following requirements:

• Younger than the age of 22;
• Has not earned a high school diploma or an equivalent degree;
• Has moved on his/her own as a migratory worker or with/to join/to precede a parent, spouse or guardian who is a migratory worker; and
• The move was​:
  
• within the preceding 36 months
• due to economic necessity
  
• from one school district to another (special conditions apply to Alaska and Hawaii); and
  
• from one residence to another
  

A migratory worker is someone who has moved within the past 36 months and engaged in qualifying seasonal or temporary work in agriculture or fishing soon after the move or, under certain circumstances, unsuccessfully sought qualifying work.

ISBE awards full-year supplemental funding to serve children of, or who are themselves, migratory agricultural workers. The funding is allocated by the U.S. Department of Education from Title I, Part C of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, reauthorized in 2015 as the Every Student Succeeds Act. This funding is sub-granted to entities that demonstrate the capacity to deliver high-quality supplemental instructional and support services to eligible migratory children. Funding allotments are calculated through a funding formula that considers factors that define the migratory child population unique to each of the six service regions throughout the state.

Entities that may receive funding are school districts, regional offices of education, institutions of higher education, and other public and private nonprofit organizations.

Entities interested in funding to provide supplemental services to migratory children should contact the ISBE Multilingual/Language Development Department at multilingual@isbe.net or 312-814-3850.

Under Title I, Part C of ESSA, eligible migrant children must receive priority for service if they have made a qualifying move within the previous 1-year period and are failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet the challenging State academic standards; or have dropped out of school.

• MEP Service Region by County and Map​
  
• Sample Agricultural Survey for Districts​: This is an example of a survey that could be included in district registration packets to help to identify children who may be eligible for the Migrant Education Program
  
• Illinois Migrant Education Program Service Delivery Plan
  
• Migrant Program Evaluation (2023-26)​
  
• Local Program Contacts
  
• Program Brochures:
  • Program Brochure
    
  • Migrant Parent Brochure Program Brochure - Spanish
    
  • Program Brochure - French​
    
• Free School Meals
  • Migrant children are categorically eligi​ble for free school meals
• Out of School Youth
  
• Identification and Recruitment Consortium​
  

Program Links

• National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education (NASDME):
  National organization website with links to other state migrant program websites and conference information
• National PASS Center:
  Portable Assisted Study Sequence (PASS) program allows students to earn secondary credit for high school graduation
  
• Office of Migrant Education:
  Federal program guidance and resources​​​​​​​
  

Reference Material

• Resources for Recruiters

Recruiter Training

Migrant recruiter training is available on a rotating basis. For more information contact Reina Olivares.

Request a Recruiter

Contact Reina Olivares, Illinois Migrant Identification and Recruitment Coordinator at 224-605-4743 or rfranco@niu.edu.​

If you have reason to believe that a child:

• Is ages 3 through 21, and
• Has not graduated from high school or earned a high school equivalency, and
• Has moved from one district to another, from one residence to another in the last 36 months, and
• Has parents/guardians or on their own has participated in agricultural work,

please do not hesitate to complete a referral at this link (Use https://idrreferrals.net/ ) to request a recruiter to further complete an eligibility inquiry.