Identification
For purposes of Board policies and regulations, the phrase migratory students shall mean students aged three (3) through twenty-one (21) who are or whose parents/guardians or spouses are migratory agricultural workers, including migratory dairy workers or migratory fishers; and who in the preceding thirty-six (36) months, in order to obtain or accompany such parents/guardians or spouses in obtaining temporary or seasonal employment in agriculture or fishing work, have moved from one school district to another.
Recognizing that migrant children are among the most educationally disadvantaged groups in our society, the Carthage R-9 School District actively seeks to identify those who may be temporarily residing (or settled out) within its boundaries. The district then gives them full access to all educational and related programs ordinarily provided all other children.
Identification begins with a question on the District's enrollment form that asks if the family has moved from any school district to another within the past three years to seek or obtain temporary or seasonal work in agriculture or a related food processing business. If it is indicated that a migrant student is enrolling, then the parents will be asked to complete a parent survey/family interview form provided by the State Office for Migrant-English Education Language Learner (MELL) Program. The Regional Migrant Center or the State Director for Migrant Education will be notified of any migrant students who are enrolled in the District. A recruiter will talk with the district's contact person and the parents of the newly enrolled students.
Through personal contacts or home visits, a family interview will provide information for completing the Certificate of Eligibility (COE). After the COE is completed, information from it is entered into a state database maintained by data entry specialists at the regional Migrant Education Center. Educational and health records are then generated, and the students listed on the form become eligible for federally funded supplementary services.
Services
The Carthage R-9 School District assesses the educational and related health and social needs of migrant students residing within its boundaries, and gives full access to all programs ordinarily provided all other children to meet their needs. School District personnel, including secretaries, nurses, counselors, teachers and principals, will be advised of the presence of eligible migrant students in their assigned schools to ensure that equal access to all school programs is provided.
Where needs exist that cannot be fully met by district personnel, or through state and federal sources, contact will be made with the director of the regional Migrant Education Center.
Personnel from the Migrant Center attempt to provide needed services and/or assist district personnel in developing a project application for a local Migrant Education program through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
Complaints concerning the placement of migrant students will be resolved by means of the District's complaint resolution procedure for homeless students.