Migrant Students
Migrant students represent a significant number of California’s children and adolescents. In 2014,
California was home to nearly 200,000 migrant students, or about 35% of the country’s total migrant
student population, and about one-third of California’s migrant students were classified as ELs (CDE,
2014b). A student between the ages of 3 and 21 is considered migrant if the parent or guardian is a
migratory worker in the agricultural, dairy, lumber, or fishing
industries and whose family has moved during the past three
years.
Shifting trends are affecting migrant families across
California and the nation. Drought across the western
U.S. and depressed local and regional economies, as well
as adverse conditions within other countries (e.g., gang
and drug-related violence), all impact migration patterns.
Relocation, poverty, the difficulty of farm work (for those
migrant families engaged in agricultural industries), parent
education level and familiarity with U.S. school culture, and
language differences affect the educational experiences of migrant students. Schools and districts
should be aware of the background factors that may affect the ways in which children and adolescents
from migrant families engage in school learning. Most importantly, teachers should become familiar
with their migrant students’ circumstances, so they can attend to their students’ particular learning
needs.
One of the greatest challenges migrant students face is access to and continuity of the services
that are intended to meet their unique needs. The goal of California’s migrant program is to provide
supplemental services and supports to migrant students, so they can be ready for and successful in
school and graduate with a high school diploma that prepares them for responsible citizenship, further
learning, and productive employment. When families move, migrant students’ educational process is
interrupted, and this can be exacerbated if the family moves to an area where there is not a migrant
program or if the migrant program does not identify students and provide them with services in a
timely way. Not only do the children and youth have an
interruption in their education, but they also experience the
interruption in services designed to help them overcome
their unique challenges as migrant students. (See discussion
of high mobility in the section on students living in poverty.)
Migrant education support services include preschool
services, academic instruction, bilingual and multicultural
instruction, career education services, guidance and
counseling, and health services. Schools and districts are
required to create and adhere to a systematic plan for
identifying migrant students as soon as they enter their
schools and for immediately providing appropriate services
so that migrant students’ education is not further disrupted.
For more information and for resources in meeting the
needs of migrant students, see the California Department
of Education’s Migrant Education Programs and Services
(http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/me/mt/programs.asp), the Migrant Students Foundation
(http://www.migrantstudents.org/), and Colorín Colorado (http://www.colorincolorado.org/).
In 2014, California was home
to nearly 200,000 migrant
students, or about 35% of the
country’s total migrant student
population, and about one-
third of California’s migrant
students were classified as ELs.The goal of California’s
migrant program is to provide
supplemental services and
supports to migrant students,
so they can be ready for
and successful in school and
graduate with a high school
diploma that prepares them
for responsible citizenship,
further learning, and
productive employment.Access and Equity Chapter 9 | 897