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Education and Services for Migratory Children

School districts or other community partners who know of a student or family who has recently moved due to agricultural work, should use the MEP referral form to refer them to the DPI Identification and Recruitment Team.

A migratory student is someone who moves because they or their family are involved in seasonal agricultural work. Migratory students often move multiple times per year— experiencing interrupted schooling in addition to other educational barriers they may face. The shared mission of the Title I, Part C Migrant Education Program, and provisions of Title I, Part A of the Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA), is to provide migratory students the supplemental instructional services and support they need to succeed.

Migratory Students are Eligible for the Following Services:

  • Free school lunch (categorically eligible for the school year and summer)
  • Access to Title I, Part A services on the same basis as other students
  • Support services that can be provided through use of Title I, Part A reserved funds
  • Migrant Education Program (MEP) summer programming, provided by local Regional Coordinators across the state where available

Visit the District Services page for more information about services provided during the academic year.

How Can Schools, Agribusiness, and Community Partners Help?

Supporting migratory students removes barriers so that every student has the support they need at the time they need it in order to be successful in school, and to graduate college and career ready. This mission relies on collaboration between local educational agencies and community partners to find and support all migratory students. Every stakeholder - including schools, agribusiness employers, service provision agencies, and MEP regional programs - plays a role in building a system of support to serve the needs of students.

You can help in this endeavor by contacting the Wisconsin Migrant Education Program if you know of a worker who is under the age of 22 or a family who works in agriculture and has moved school districts in the last three years.

How MEP Services are Delivered

In Wisconsin the MEP is a regional summer program with specific strategies designed to make progress towards identified Measurable Program Outcomes. The summer-only program approach concentrates the efforts of the Title I, Part C MEP funds, and the regional coordination of the program means more children receive services in larger geographic areas. See the 2022 MEP Service Delivery Plan for further detail regarding plan development, identified goals, and specific program strategies. See also the Summer Migrant Education Program page for more information about the program.

As part of continuous improvement, an evaluation is conducted each year to determine the extent to which MEP strategies were implemented with fidelity and the impact of those strategies on migratory student achievement. See the most recent program evaluation report for more information.

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