SPAN/Essex Regional Educational Services Commission (ERESC) Migrant Education Program (MEP)
About MEP
The Migrant Education Program (MEP) serves the vital purpose of guaranteeing that children of migrant workers have equal access to free, appropriate public education, including public preschool education, as provided to all other children. To fulfill this mission, the MEP collaborates with state and local agencies, such as SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, to eliminate obstacles hindering the school enrollment, attendance, and achievement of migrant children.
Specifically, the goals of the Migrant Education Program are:
Ensuring Equal Standards
Enable migrant children to meet the same challenging state content standards and student performance benchmarks that are expected of all children.
Supporting Comprehensive Education
Provide support for high-quality, comprehensive educational programs tailored to migrant children’s needs, aiming to mitigate the disruptions caused by frequent relocations.
Offering Appropriate Services
Ensure migrant children receive appropriate educational services, including essential supportive services, addressing their unique needs in an organized and efficient manner.
Benefiting from Reforms: Guarantee that migrant children actively participate in state and local systemic reforms, ensuring they have the opportunity to benefit from improvements in the overall educational system.
Overcoming Challenges: Develop specialized programs to assist migrant children in overcoming obstacles such as educational disruptions, cultural and language barriers, social isolation, health-related issues, and other factors that impede their academic progress. These programs should prepare them for success in school and facilitate a smooth transition to postsecondary education or employment.
NJ Counties Served: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, Warren counties
Student Eligibility:
Children who are migrants & have had the basis for the MEP eligibility properly recorded may receive services. A child is eligible for MEP services if he or she:
- Is younger than 22 (and has not graduated from high school or does not hold a high school equivalency certificate), but, if the child is too young to attend school-sponsored programs, is old enough to benefit from an organized instructional program;
- Is a migrant agricultural worker or a migrant fisher OR has a parent, spouse, or guardian who is a migrant agricultural worker or a migrant fisher;
- Performs, or has a parent, spouse, or guardian who performs, qualifying agricultural or fishing employment as a principal means of livelihood;
- Has moved within the preceding 36 months to obtain, or to accompany or join a parent, spouse, or guardian to obtain, temporary or seasonal employment in agricultural of fishing work;
- Has moved from one school district to another.
Resources
ERESC Links:
- ERESC main homepage
- ERESC MEP webpage
- ERESC Tutor referral form
- ERES MKV webpage
- ERESC Parent Resources webpage
Looking for specific resources for yourself or your family? Click HERE and enter your zip code to find what you need.
For more information, please contact:
Danica K. LaFortune
MEP Project Director
Email: dlafortune@spanadvocacy.org
The SPAN/Essex Regional Educational Services Commission NJ Migrant Education Program is a partnership between SPAN Parent Advocacy Network and the Essex Regional Education Services Commission (ERESC), funded by the ERESC.