Assembly Bill 1319 Frequently Asked Questions

LEAs should contact the local Migrant Education Program (MEP) Regional Office or MEP Direct-funded District (DFD) Office on MEP Regional Offices and Direct Funded Districts web page to request a list of MEP-eligible students. There are specific criteria in California Education Code (EC) and federal legislation that must be met to quality for the MEP services and only the regional or the DFD office will have current information. The California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) does not contain current information.

In accordance with 34 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R) §200.89, a student is only considered migratory after a valid Certificate of Eligibility has been completed and approved by authorized Migrant Education Program (MEP) staff at the regional office or the direct-funded district office. Therefore, LEAs should coordinate with their local MEP office to identify migratory status for pupils requesting to remain in their school or district of origin. Any data sharing between the LEAs and MEPs should follow strict student data security practices. It may be possible for LEAs to receive MEP-eligible student lists from the local MEP office.

Do not ask the child or parent as they may not know whether they meet the federal definition of a migratory child. To find the MEP office in your area, please review the list of MEP Regional Offices and Direct Funded Districts.

A primary role of the MEP is to support comprehensive supplemental educational programs that address the unique needs of migratory children based on their migratory lifestyle (34 Code of Federal Regulations [C.F.R] §200.83). These unique needs are identified in the MEP State Service Delivery Plan, which does not specifically note transportation as a prioritized need. MEP funding is supplemental in nature and subgrantees need to be careful not to fund core program requirements with MEP funds. Additionally, as the number of migratory students continues to decrease, MEP funding will decrease correspondingly. Many subgrantees might not then be able to provide the high quality supplemental services required by the CDE while still setting aside funding for transportation that should generally be provided by the core program.

AB 1319 addresses the core program of an LEA’s core program. If an LEA wishes to provide students transportation for the duration of the school year, LEAs might research whether transportation is provided to other groups of students that are also allowed to remain at the school of origin (i.e., foster students, special education students, military students) and utilize those funding sources. It may be possible to utilize Title 1, Part A funds if already in use for transportation. Neither federal nor state law mandates that transportation be provided to migratory students in order to remain in their school of origin.

The requirements depend on the migratory student’s grade, as described below:

• If the pupil is enrolled in kindergarten or any of Grades 1–8, inclusive, allow the pupil to continue their education in the school of origin through the duration of that academic school year.
• If the pupil is enrolled in high school, allow the pupil to continue their education in the school of origin through graduation.

Yes. If a migratory pupil is transitioning between grade levels, the migratory pupil should be enrolled immediately regardless of whether the pupil is able to produce clothing or records normally required for enrollment (i.e., academic records, medical records, proof of immunization, etc.).

Yes. Migratory pupils who are transitioning between school grade levels, including to middle school or to high school, are permitted to matriculate with their peers in accordance to the feeder patterns of school districts.

Only the MEP Regional Office or the Direct-funded District (DFD) are authorized to determine if a child qualifies for the MEP. They follow the criteria set forth in California Education Code (EC) and federal law (Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Section 1309). A child is considered migratory if the following conditions are met as indicated in Regulatory Guidance (March 2017) Child Eligibility Section:

• The child made a qualifying move in the preceding 36 months as a migratory agricultural worker or a migratory fisher, or did so with, or to join a parent/guardian or spouse who is a migratory agricultural worker or a migratory worker, and
• The child is not older than 21 years of age; expeditiously
• Has not received a high school diploma, or
• The child is not yet at a grade level at which the LEA provides a free public education.

A ‘‘qualifying move’’ means a move due to economic necessity—

(A) from one residence to another residence; and
(B) from one school district to another school district, except—
(i) in the case of a State that is comprised of a single school district, wherein a qualifying move is from one administrative area to another within such district; or
(ii) in the case of a school district of more than 15,000 square miles, wherein a qualifying move is a distance of 20 miles or more to a temporary residence.

Continuing to attend their school or district of origin does not affect an already identified migratory child because the child’s MEP eligibility was already met, approved, and documented at the time their Certificate of Eligibility was created and certified. However, if a child does not move in three years, they will not likely meet eligibility criteria in the future.