The Title I migrant education program was first appropriated $9.7 million

in Fiscal Year 1967 of a $40.3 million authorization.

That appropriation has

grown to $145.7 million for Fiscal Year 1978 programs. In 1967, State agency programs were not fully funded under the Title I enabling legislation; therefore, the appropriation was less than the authorization. In succeeding

years, however, State agency programs have been funded to the full

authorization.

Services were initially provided for approximately 80,000 migrant children in FY 1967. Currently, the program is in operation in 46 States and Puerto Rico and serves over 500,000 children in 15,000 schools.

Some overview statistics concerning the migrant education program are as

The Title I program for migratory children is a State-administered program
which may involve financial assistance to local educational agencies as
sub-grantees.

Operational responsibilities are shared by the U.S. Commissioner of Education, State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and other public and private non-profit organizations which operate migrant projects.

The SEA is directly responsible for the adminstration and operation of the State's Title I migrant program. Annually, each SEA submits a comprehensive plan and cost estimate for its Statewide program to the Office of Education for approval. This plan contains information on the number and location of migrant students, their special educational needs, program objectives, services to meet those objectives, and procedures for determining program Further, the SEA is also responsible for the design and

effectiveness.

preparation of State evaluation reports.

When the State's application is approved, it is awarded a grant, entirely

separate from the regular Title I allocation, to finance the migrant

program.

Proposals to operate a migrant project are submitted to SEAS

by those LEAs serving areas with migrant students, and by other public and private non-profit organizations (note that proposals are submitted on a voluntary basis).

The needs of migrant children are established through parent contact, teacher observations, and data available in the Migrant Student Record Transfer System. Additional data are assembled through diagnostic testing and teacher evaluations, the results of which are then transmitted to the MSRTS when the migrant child withdraws from the project. Although the migrant program strives to serve those migrant children most in need when program funding is limited, the goal is to serve all migrant children

demonstrating need at any level.

Therefore, all migrant children may be

served, the eligibility factor being the migratory status of the child according to the statute and the regulations.

The challenges that must be faced in meeting the needs of migratory children are many. The mobility of the migrant child and the effects that this mobility has had on the formerly migratory child has severely affected the educational continuity necessary for educational growth. This can be readily seen by the extremely low number of such children completing high school 1,460 in 1976, and 4,792 in 1977. States that have these children in their schools for up to six months must plan a program based on late entries and early withdrawals, usually from the first of November through April. Other States,

primarily receiving States, must plan 'summer programs," really a misnomer because they often overlap into the regular school year. These challenges involve the entire spectrum of academic and supportive services.

In order to effect a significant program of assistance to the migrant child, an interstate approach must be pursued. In the arena of migrant education, this means an exchange of ideas, curriculum approaches and methodologies, a call for imagination and creativity in our schools, and a need to bridge State lines by cooperatively planning educational programs. It is often stated that our thinking and planning must become as mobile as the children we serve. But how do we educate a mobile population? This, then is the issue--challenge.

Programs operating during the regular school year have a greater opportunity to utilize available resources and therefore are less costly to operate.. However, programs that begin late in the school year and that have the greatest impact during the summer months become self-supporting because of the unavailability of resources common during the regular school term.

Because

of increased efforts by States to identify and recruit eligible migrant youngsters due to the current method of detemining SEA allocations through

the MSRTS and the funding eligibility of five-year provision children, programs ar

expanding in duration and serving more children.

Migrant program exemplary projects as validated by the Joint Dissemination

Review Panel of the Office of Education and the National Institute of

Education include:

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(1) The Migrant Student Record Transfer System (MSRTS), headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, is an important component of the national program. This computerized data system receives, stores, and transmits academic and health information on children participating in Title I migrant projects in each of the 46 participating States and Puerto Rico. Schools are responsible for submitting academic, health, and status information which can be retrieved by new teachers and school health officials;

(2) The Washington State Migrant Education Program, in cooperation with the Texas Migrant Education Program, has developed a program known as the Washington StateTexas Secondary Credit Exchange Project, a combination of night school and coordination with the students' home base schools to assure proper crediting of course work leading to a high school diploma.

(3) The Early Prevention of School Failure for Spanish-Speaking Migrant Children is a project of the Illinois State Migrant Program that has also been validated as exemplary. It provides the necessary screening assessment to determine the child's strengths and needs in developmental skill competencies. A follow-up educational program is then provided so that teachers and parents can help those children identified with developmental lags in the modality areas to achieve the necessary developmental skills to prepare for formal reading and writing. (4) Project NOMAD (Needs and Objectives for Migrant Advancement and Development) of the Michigan State migrant education program is directed to the total development of the migrant child. This project synthesizes a unique curriculum which focuses on the needs of migrant students, their families, the community, and local educators into a single package which has impact on the migrant