ERIC Number: EJ774276
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Aug-29
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0277-4232
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
An Anchor in a Shifting Stream
Zehr, Mary Ann
Education Week, v27 n1 p26-29 Aug 2007
This article discusses the Federal Migrant Education Program as implemented in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The program is relatively small as federal programs go--its budget for the current fiscal year was $386.5 million. According to the No Child Left Behind Act, the term "migratory child" means a child who is, or whose parent or spouse is, a migratory agricultural worker, including a migratory dairy worker, or a migratory fisher, and who, in the preceding 36 months, in order to obtain, or accompany such parent or spouse, in order to obtain, temporary or seasonal employment in agricultural or fishing work--(1) has moved from one school district to another; (2) in a state that is comprised of a single school district, has moved from one administrative area to another within such district; or (3) 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. Complex eligibility rules for the federal program, such as what is considered agricultural work and what was a family's reason for making a move, have dominated national discussions about the program in recent years and are at the center of the debate on its reauthorization. Those who run the program in Chester County say the eligibility rules are hard to apply to the people they seek to serve: immigrants from Mexico who have little education, who do not speak English, and who are distrustful of questions. The educators have some ideas about how the law could be improved and they would like the reauthorization to make it easier to determine if families are eligible and to permit more families to participate.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Migrant Programs, Immigrants, Eligibility, Counties, Federal Programs, Migrant Education, School Districts, English (Second Language), Residence Requirements, Children
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Mexico; Pennsylvania
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A