ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the research available on migrant education, key policy goals and the Migrant Education Program (MEP) population. It highlights characteristics and trends that present challenges to their educational trajectory, including socioeconomic status, English Language Learner status, school attainment, educational achievement, and health indicators. The scarcity of research on farmworker families and students hinders the progress and improvement of MEP. The original conceptualization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the legislative act that allocated funding to MEP, advanced an equity agenda. The chapter argues that the most significant goal of the MEP is school readiness vis-a-vis early childhood programs. A recent and major policy change that has implications for migrant students is the implementation of the Common Core State Standards in most states. These new national standards have the intention of increasing the rigor and complexity of skill and content in the areas of Math and English Language Arts.
