What is migrant service coordination and why is it important?

According to the Non-Regulatory Guidance, MEPMigrant Education Program “services” are a subset of all the activities that the MEPMigrant Education Program provides through its program and projects. Although the SEAState Education Agency and local operating agencies may spend MEPMigrant Education Program funds on many types of allowable activities, some of these activities do not constitute a “service” (e.g., identification and recruitment or parental involvement activities). “Services” are distinct in that they are the educational or educationally related activities provided to migratory children to enable them to succeed in school. Because student success is the overarching goal of the MEPMigrant Education Program, services are a vital aspect of the program. ³

NOTE: In providing migrant-funded services, it is required that the needs of migratory PFSPriority For Service students are addressed before those of other migratory students.

MEPMigrant Education Program funds may be used to provide a service when the same kind of service is not available from other funding sources.

There are two types of services MEPMigrant Education Program funds may support:

• Instructional services (e.g., educational activities for preschool-age children and instruction in elementary and secondary schools, such as tutoring before and after school); and
• Support services (e.g., educationally related activities, such as advocacy for migrant children; health, nutrition, and social services for migrant families; necessary educational supplies; transportation; etc.) ⁴

NOTE: Migrant services must be supplemental. For more information on the difference between supplementing and supplanting, visit the TEA website.

• Planning and carrying out programs and projects in coordination with other local, State, and Federal programs, such as Title I - Part A, Title III, and Special Education and/or Section 504 if they qualify for those programs;
• Interstate and intrastate coordination between States and local operating agencies to ensure the continuity of services for children who migrate from one State or school district to another, including but not limited to, the transfer of student records; and
• Grants or contracts provided under section 1308 to improve coordination activities among educational programs that serve migrant children. ⁵

“Identify and address the special educational needs of migrant children by providing them a full range of services from appropriate local, State, and Federal educational programs. In providing these services, SEAsState Education Agencies must plan jointly with local, State, and Federal programs and must integrate the MEPMigrant Education Program with services provided by other programs. By coordinating with other programs, SEAsState Education Agencies ensure that the needs of migrant children are met through a variety of sources in a way that leverages other program funds and optimizes the use of MEPMigrant Education Program funds for the unique needs of migrant children. The SEAState Education Agency must determine the children’s needs and identify all the available services that address these needs. The SEAState Education Agency should then coordinate with those programs and agencies that provide services that meet the identified needs and help ensure that migrant children have access to appropriate programs and services.” ⁶

The ESSA Consolidated Federal Grant Application Program Guidelines additionally provide guidance on how MEPMigrant Education Program funds may be used to ensure the coordination of activities with other agencies, both within the state and with other states nationwide, as long as they are supplemental. ⁷

Migratory parents, as vital MEPMigrant Education Program stakeholders, were surveyed by the Texas Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) Committee during the 2015-16 Statewide CNA process and they determined that migrant service coordination was an integral part of the MEPMigrant Education Program program. Following are some of the essential needs that migrant parents addressed in the survey in order of importance. The percentages of all migrant parents surveyed that expressed the particular need are also included:

• School supplies for their children (57%)
• Clothing for their children and family (40%)
• Dental, vision, and health care services (28%)
• School and community resources (24%)

• Parenting education programs (18%)
• Information about children’s health issues (18%)
• Family literacy and language instruction (17%) ⁸

In compiling all of the data collected to determine the most important needs, the CNAComprehensive Needs Assessment committee concluded there was a tremendous need to coordinate resources and services for migratory students and families under three of the MEP Seven Areas of Concern, “#5-Education Support in the Home,” “#6-Health,” and “#7-Access to Services.” ⁹