NCHE Information by Topic - Migrant Education

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NCHE Migrant Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness brief (52K)

This brief identifies the key provisions of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act dealing with migrant children and youth experiencing homelessness and offers strategies for implementation.

Other Resources

ESCORT

ESCORT is a national resource center dedicated to improving the educational opportunities for migrant children. ESCORT maintains the National Migrant Education Hotline and conducts professional and program development activities for SEAS, LEAs, and schools to help improve services to migrant children and other English Language Learners. ESCORT also provides technical and logistical support to the U.S. Office of Migrant Education on a wide variety of interstate coordination activities.

Federal Resources for Feeding Homeless Children and Youth

This 2-page brief from the Food Research and Action Center provides a concise and easily-understandable summary of the main points of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 as they pertain to homeless, migrant, and runaway students. Topics include: automatic eligibility for free school Meals, documentation of free meal eligibility, full year school eligibility, federal nutrition funds for shelters serving children and youth, and food stamps and homeless children and youth.

National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education

The National Association of the State Directors of Migrant Education (NASDME) is the professional organization of state officials charged with the responsibility of using migrant education funds effectively and productively to help all migrant children succeed in school. Visit the NASDME website for information about migrant education, related conferences, and publications.

Reducing Paperwork and Connecting Low-Income Children with School Meals

This report, by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, describes a few of the key changes to the school meal eligibility determination process under the reauthorized Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004. It focuses on the changes that provide the greatest opportunity to improve low-income children�s access to free or reduced-price meals and explains how they can be implemented in ways that reduce the administrative burden on states and school districts. A section focusing on homeless, migrant, and runaway students is included.

Reaching Out to Homeless and Migrant Families

This two-part online course, provided by Verizon Literacy Campus (VLC), covers important issues in supporting literacy among homeless and migrant families. Courses are provided free of charge and require only a simple registration process, including choosing a username and password so that VLC can track your progress through each course.

USDA memos on the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-265) expands federal child nutrition programs in several ways to assist homeless, migrant, and runaway children and youth by providing:

Automatic eligibility for free school meals
Streamlined procedures for documenting eligibility
Full school year eligibility for free school meals
Federal nutrition funds for shelters that serve children and youth up to age 18
See USDA Memo SP3 (Jul 7, 2004), which establishes a household's full school year eligibility for free or reduced price meals.
See USDA Memo SP4 (Jul 19, 2004), which establishes the categorical eligibility of homeless, migrant, and runaway children and youth, and provides instructions for documenting the eligibility of homeless children and youth served under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
See USDA "Categorial Eligibility for Free Lunches and Breakfasts for Migrant Children" Memo (Aug 16, 2004), which establishes the categorical eligibility of migrant students, provides instructions for documenting migrant students' eligibility, and explains the free meal program's full school year eligibility concept.
See USDA "Guidance on Determining Categorical Eligibility for Free Lunches and Breakfasts for Youth Served under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act" Memo (Sept 17. 2004), which establishes the categorical eligibility of runaway youth served through grant programs established under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and provides instructions for documenting the eligibility of youth served under the Act.

Related memo

See Updated Guidance for Homeless Children in the School Nutrition Programs (April 4, 2002), which initially established the guidelines for providing documentation of a student's homeless status for the purpose of receiving free school meals.

The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Education, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. This website was produced with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, on contract no. ED-01-CO-0092/0001.