Migrant Education Program FAQs

For the most up to date information on COVID-19, visit the Official California State Government COVID-19 in California website.

For information on how to keep families and staff safe visit the California Department of Public Health website.

For updates on statewide education policy guidance, visit the California Department of Education COVID-19 web page.

Additional information is also available from the U.S. Department of Education COVID-19 Information and Resources for Schools and School Personnel web page.

California has set up funding to help support undocumented workers during the COVID-19 crisis, providing $125 million through a public-private partnership. The state will contribute $75 million to the fund, with the remaining $50 million coming from private philanthropic partners.

A group of 12 immigrant-focused nonprofits across the state will help roughly 150,000 undocumented adults impacted by the virus apply for the funds. The application period begins May 18 and runs through June 30.

The one-time payments will be $500 per adult, with a cap of $1,000 per household.

To be eligible, they must:

• be at least 18 years old and undocumented
• be ineligible for federal COVID-19 relief like the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
• have experienced a hardship due to the virus

It’s imperative that we get this information to our families as soon as possible as applicants will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis and must reach out to the organization that is serving their county.

Please visit the California Department of Social Services COVID-19 Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants web page to identify the organizations within your counties that are accepting applications.

The MEP funding application due dates remain the same (April 6, 2020, for Direct-Funded Districts and May 7, 2020, for Migrant Regions) in order to expedite grant approvals and disbursement of funds. However, local MEPs will not be penalized if the application arrives late. If applications will be submitted late, please contact the assigned California Department of Education staff and provide a date for submission.

If local MEPs are concerned about programmatic changes that may take place in July 2020, please utilize the pre-approval process to request program changes once the application is approved.

To determine if public events or student services and/or activities need to be cancelled or postponed, please follow the guidance of the local Superintendent. For example, if the Superintendent has closed the schools, subgrantees will not be able to have students enroll in services and activities. As school closures continue to extend into the summer, the California Department of Education Migrant Education Office (MEO) recommends local MEPs plan to implement distance learning activities.

Yes. In the absence of providing onsite instruction, the local MEP needs to develop online programming, tutorials, and hard-copy study guides and packets to meet individual student needs. The local MEPs should also begin thinking about adapting and modifying other needed services to be made available virtually. For example, local MEPs may wish to deploy tele-health services and have counselors call families in their homes. Information on COVID-19 guidance for K-12 schools is available from the California Department of Education Distance Learning web page.

Yes. To avoid supplanting, follow the recommended steps below:

• Communicate with the district to determine how the core program will be deployed via online instruction.
• Determine when core instruction is taking place.
• Work with the local teacher to determine student academic needs.
• Plan to offer supplemental MEP services that support student academic needs during a time when core instruction is not being offered.

Federal guidance states that online credit accrual services require a credentialed staff to oversee online services. However, as online curriculum must be district approved, please contact the local district where the student is enrolled to determine the local policy for proxying exams for online learning during school closures. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) and the State Board of Education (SBE) issued guidance on this topic available on the California Department of Education FAQs on Grading and Graduation Requirements web page.

For your grant application, summer services in the application align with the fiscal year July 1 through June 30.

For your funding, summer services are used to determine the Category 2 count (number of unique students served during the summer) which is part of the MEP grant funding formula. For the Category 2 count, summer services are counted by performance period, September 1 through August 31, just like the C1 county (the number of unique students).

For summer minutes required by the Education Code Section 54444.3, minutes are determined for your summer period, per your school calendar. For example, if summer if June through August, CDE looks at your programs in June, July, and August. This may cover two of your applications such as June from one fiscal year, and July and August from the next fiscal year.

MEP services are not limited to a face-to-face format and States may include children served remotely during  the summer in their Category II child counts, even if the children have moved to another State for the summer.

A child residing in another State may be included in California’s Category II child count, assuming all of the following are true: the child is included in California’s Category I child count for the performance reporting period, the child is still MEP-eligible while being served by the California MEP during the summer, and the California MEP is providing a “service” as defined it in the non-regulatory guidance (NRG).

The NRG states the following: “Services” are those educational or educationally related activities that: (1) directly benefit a migrant child; (2) address a need of a migrant child consistent with the state education agency’s comprehensive needs assessment and service delivery plan; (3) are grounded in scientifically based research or, in the case of support services, are a generally accepted practice; and (4) are designed to enable the program to meet its measurable outcomes and contribute to the achievement of the State’s performance targets.

Read U.S. Department of Education's Non-Regulatory Guidance (PDF), for further information.

No. Teacher preparation requirements will not be waived. If the State Board of Education issues policy to waive teacher requirements for the core program, the MEP will adjust accordingly.

Yes. In order to address these extraordinary circumstances, the OME offers two possible approaches to MEP MPOs that your State may wish to consider:

• Continue to apply the current MPOs and in documenting the results, note the circumstances that contributed to not meeting the previously established targets and/or missing data for this period (e.g., pandemic-related modifications to services and waiver of Statewide assessments).
• Document a modified plan for MEP services for summer 2020 and include this information as an Appendix or Addendum to the current SSDP. The Appendix or Addendum should clearly specify why the modifications are necessary, the assessed needs upon which the modified services are based, the modified services to be provided, the modified MPOs to measure the implementation and results of those services, and the duration of the modifications (e.g., applicable to summer 2020).

No. Due to the resources and time required to modify and publish MPOs, the CDE will continue with the current MPOs and note the circumstances that contributed to not meeting the previously established targets or missing data in the Annual Performance Progress Report provided to subgrantees. This method will be utilized for the 2019–20 grant year as well as summer services for the 2020–21 summer services. The CDE will seek additional guidance from OME if additional COVID-19 related issues affect school services.

Yes, generally, if it is consistent with the organization's policies and procedures for paying compensation from all funding sources, federal and non-federal, during extraordinary circumstances, such as a public health emergency. See item number 1, in the federal guidance fact sheet (PDF).

The CDE will add the remaining balance of each subgrantees' 2019–20 fiscal year grant award to the 2021–22 grant allocation. Funding is based on the prior year's counts and carryover, so subgrantees will not receive the balance until 2021–22.

On April 8, 2020, the federal government issued guidance that allows the use of federal funds to pay for cancellation fees. See the federal guidance fact sheet (PDF). However, in item two of the guidance, it requires that you make an effort to recover the non-refundable costs and that you maintain records and documentation to justify the payment of cancellation fees. As the Governor has issued a State of Emergency and a Stay At Home Order, and as local school districts are closed, contractors should be flexible and be willing to refund the majority of funds. If you incur cancellation fees, the MEP recommends you discuss the costs with your supervisor. If you have additional concerns, please contact your assigned CDE staff person.

Prior guidance from the White House can be found here: Office of Management and Budget Guidance, # 6 (PDF).

Given the unprecedented circumstances, there is a lot of flexibility in allowable use of funds—including costs “necessary to resume activities supported by the award”. See Office of Management Budget Guidance, # 6 (PDF). However, education grants are somewhat unique in that there are supplement not supplant provisions—provisions that cannot be waived, even under the Secretary’s broad waiver authority in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Section 8401. Accordingly, the request should be reviewed in light of what is being provided to all students—if Regions are only purchasing the Chromebooks for Migratory students in order to continue/resume Migrant programming during the extended period of school closure, generally this will be allowable. Grantees should consider what internal controls will be implemented—such as tagging the Chromebooks. Also, grantees should consider the capacity to implement programming—will Informational Technology staff need to load software or otherwise configure the Chromebooks; are there accessibility issues (particularly for English learners), etc.

If Chromebooks are being purchased for all students in the district, and the district simply wants to use Migrant funds for the Migratory students—this is where a potential supplanting issue may arise.

Also, Congress is in the process of passing a stimulus bill that will provide additional education funding to districts. One of the allowable uses of that funding includes purchasing technology to convert programming to online instruction—which includes Chromebooks or other devices. Accordingly, the stimulus funding may be a better source for these purchases.

During this emergency, if food is not immediately available from other programs, the MEP may provide food to meet the identified needs of migratory children for a limited period of time, until other resources become available.

Food should generally be provided by other Federal and non-Federal programs (e.g., school meals programs administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service, community food banks). USDA has implemented automatic flexibilities and expanded waivers specifically to address the pandemic.

We recommend that MEP staff document any efforts to obtain food from other sources prior to using MEP funds. As with any use of MEP funds, the costs must comport with the principles outlined in the Uniform Guidance in 2 Code of Federal Regulations Part 200 (e.g., the costs are necessary, reasonable, and allocable to the MEP). The provision of food must also be consistent with the program purposes in Elementary and Secondary Education Act section 1301 (e.g., to help migratory children overcome educational disruption, cultural and language barriers, social isolation, various health-related problems, and other factors that inhibit the ability of such children to succeed in school).

During these extraordinary circumstances, State may take a similar approach to ensuring eligible migratory children are able to access other necessities when there is a delay or lack of availability from other sources. Such necessities may include, but are not limited to, the specific supplies referenced (diapers, baby wipes, toilet paper). The provision of such necessities must be consistent with the program purposes in Elementary and Secondary Education Act section 1301 (e.g., to help migratory children overcome educational disruption, cultural and language barriers, social isolation, various health-related problems, and other factors that inhibit the ability of such children to succeed in school).

On April 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education issued a Fact Sheet for Transferring State-and-Local Level Funds (PDF). Per this guidance, a local educational agency (LEA) may transfer all or a portion of funds allocated under Title II, Part A and Title IV, Part A. An LEA may transfer funds at any point during the 27-month period of availability of the grant into a grant award for the same fiscal year. An LEA may only transfer funds into an Every Student Succeeds Act program for which that LEA is receiving an allocation including the Migrant program as long as the purpose of both programs is maintained. The guidance does not provide any new authority to transfer funds out of the MEP.

The MEP in California operates on a 12-month funding cycle. Therefore, the MEP 2018–19 grant period ended on June 30, 2019. Funds not utilized were reallocated to MEP regions and direct-funded districts as carryover for the 2020–21 fiscal year (FY). Therefore, FY 2018–19 funds cannot be extended as they have been reallocated for 2020–21 grants.

Yes. Equipment and supplies purchased with MEP funds may be temporarily repurposed for general education use during the closures. Therefore, if there are MEP-funded laptops, tablets, etc., that are not currently being used due to the school closures and disruptions of COVID-19, but the district could use these items in providing distance education to students (even non-migrant students), then the district may temporarily repurpose the items. The following documentation should be maintained: description of the items being repurposed, the funding used to buy the items, where the items are assigned for use during the duration of the COVID-19 emergency, and the date when the equipment or non-consumed supplies are returned.

This authorization includes supplies, which may be consumed by the general-core program, again, without regard to Migrant status or students. The supplies and equipment should have been purchased before the disruption in programming. This is not authorization to use Migrant funds to make new purchases for general/core programming. Rather, it is to repurpose existing items to facilitate distance learning. For more information see Fact Sheet For Repurposing Federal Equipment and Supplies to Combat COVID-19 (PDF).

Due to COVID-19 flexibility, CDE will not provide a set allocation for MESRP for the fiscal year 2021–22.

Although not a requirement this year, the CDE recommends you continue to track the MESRP expenditures by using Resource Code 3110, as we will utilize this code again in the fiscal year 2022–23.

As a reminder, migrant funds should be recorded first to Resource Code 3060. The amount used for summer services should be contributed to Resource Code 3061 using Object Code 8990, and the amount used for school readiness should be contributed to Resource Code 3110 using Object Code 8990.

The CDE will not provide the MESRP formula since the CDE rolled over most of the subgrantees’ 2021–22 applications, and the plans are approved to offer the same level of services as the previous year. Therefore, subgrantees must allocate a similar amount as the fiscal year 2020–21 for MESRP, using the 2021–22 allocated carryover funds.

In April 2020, the federal Office of Migrant Education (OME) issued policy questions and answers (Q&As) that included a Q&A stating that the MEPs can continue providing remote virtual services to students after the students have left the state (refer to the MEP Policy Questions and Answer web page , question Q82). In order to align with the OME’s policy, the CDE is issuing the following guidance on how to apply this distance-learning policy within the state. This guidance also addresses frequently-asked questions regarding I&R and the Migrant Student Information Network (MSIN) enrollment procedures affected by the OME’s policy on distance learning and services. The OME issued the policy to address student learning needs during the COVID-19 pandemic; therefore, this guidance is in effect until further notice.

a. Concurrent Services - Multiple MEP subgrantees are permitted to serve students concurrently. If an eligible MEP student was physically present in a subgrantee’s area, for at least one day within the performance period and then moved away from the region or district where she or he was enrolled, the student may continue receiving the MEP services via distance learning from the subgrantee (see the example provided under “Scenario and Enrollments and Service Participation Examples” at the end of this guidance).

• When considering providing remote MEP services across state boundaries, remember that according to federal policy, in order to be included in Category I, a student must have resided in the state for at least one day during the performance period. The performance period begins on September 1^st every year.
• Subgrantees planning on providing MEP services across regional boundaries, can only enroll students for the beginning of the 2020–21 school year if they are physically present in the region, district, or if their presence has been verified through district enrollment.

b. Certificates of Eligibility - Even though virtual services can be provided while a student is in a different state or region, virtual COEs (i.e., eligibility interviews conducted via phone where signatures are obtained virtually) may only be created for students who are physically present in the MEP region or district at the time the COE is being created.

It depends. If the student’s residency was verified in a California region(s), then the region(s) will receive funding. This applies to a single region, even if the child is now residing in another state or multiple regions within California. Note that funding counts depend in part on where the child lived (i.e., resided) during the performance period.

Yes. If your region provides services to a migratory student via distance learning that address the student’s needs, you may continue providing services until the student connects with the MEP subgrantee in their new location. Sending a Migrant Student Information Exchange (MSIX) move notice and following up with the MEP staff where the student has relocated will ensure a successful transition.

The date the students physically left the region; or
The last day of school the students attended virtually.
The last day of school the students attended virtually would be the correct date (option b).

The current COE instructions still apply: Sometimes a student makes a qualifying move and changes residency from one school district to another, but remains enrolled in the original district. In such a case, enter the date the student enrolled in the original school district and write a note in Section XII, Local Comments, to indicate why the enrollment date occurs before the residency date. For example: “Student maintained continuous virtual enrollment in District A while he migrated to and from Texas."

Yes. The answers given by the interviewee are the responses that should be documented in Section IV of the COE. Note, however, recruiters or state education agency (SEA) Reviewers can ask for additional information to clarify any discrepancies with the interviewee if they doubt the validity of a move.

No. Withdrawal dates have never been a prerequisite to verify a move. Some regions use them as a reference to ensure quality control, but a qualifying move can occur without a student withdrawing from school if all other eligibility criteria are met.

For attending students enrolled in California, go to the MSIN enrollment data entry screen and check the box “Child lives in a different school district,” when applicable. For non-attending students and students attending in another state, add details in the “Enrollment comments” box. For example: “Child lives in Santa Maria but is virtually enrolled in Yuma Elementary School District in Yuma, AZ.” Open the following link and refer to pages 5–7 for step-by-step instructions on the MSIN enrollments web page .

School-aged children who have non-attending enrollments because of distance learning in another region or state, will fall into the same category as preschool or out-of-school youth students. They will not show up unless they have a Communication Event entered in the MSIN during the performance period with the “yes” option marked to verify that “the child was living in this region/district on the Communication Date."

California Education Code Section 54444.2 requires six meetings per year of the Regional Advisory Council (RPAC). In addition, California Code of Regulations (§ 12021) requires an RPAC meeting in the spring of 2020 to nominate a member for the State Parent Advisory Council (SPAC) and a separate meeting of the RPAC to elect a member to the SPAC.

• If subgrantees held all six meetings and also nominated and elected a parent to the SPAC, additional PAC or RPAC meetings are not necessary.
• If subgrantees have not completed the required meetings, additional virtual meetings need to be held to meet the legal requirements. The CDE has requested a waiver of this timeline but until CDE receives direction from the Legislature, the required number of meetings cannot be waived.

Omnibus Trailer Bill Senate Bill (SB) 98 (Chapter 24, Statutes of 2020) signed by the Governor on June 29, 2020, amends EC 54444.2 to include language that changes the required six meetings per year to three meetings per year for the 2020 calendar year (January through December 2020).

Additionally, SB 98 amends EC 54444.2 to suspend all requirements for 2020 nominations and elections to parent advisory councils until September 1, 2020. The MEO recommends subgrantees hold the nominating meeting prior to September 15, 2020, as the next SPAC meeting will be held on September 26, 2020 and all newly elected SPAC members must be present.

Yes. Meetings may be conducted remotely (e.g. landline phone) or via any virtual platform accessible on participants' mobile phones, tablets, and/or computers. This includes social networking platforms, which may be more accessible than virtual meeting technology for some parents. Information and assistance on obtaining internet access for parents can be found on the CDE Getting Internet Access: Available Plans web page.

Yes. California EC Section 35147, the Greene Act, requires the council to have to public meetings and post a meeting agenda at least 72 hours before the meeting with the date, time, location of the meeting, and a description of each item of business to be discussed or acted upon.

On March 17, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed executive order N-29-20 stating that, subject to notice and accessibility requirements set forth in the order, "a local legislative body or state body is authorized to hold public meetings via teleconferencing and to make public meetings accessible telephonically or otherwise electronically to all members of the public seeking to observe and to address the local legislative body or state body." On April 23, 2020, Governor Newsom signed executive order N-56-20, which extends the language about public meetings to include parent advisory committee meetings. This means public meetings may be held virtually, provided the LEA follows the requirements specified in N-29-30, including providing parents with advance notice of the meeting time, agenda, and teleconferencing information.

Executive order N-29-20 (PDF) (see paragraph 3) and Executive Order N-56-20 (PDF) (see paragraph 10) can be found on the State of California website.

Please note that prior to these two orders, Governor Newsom signed N-25-20, which addressed public meetings in paragraph 11. Although the language is similar, paragraph 3 of N-29-20 withdraws and supersedes the language in the previous order.