ABSTRACT
The Migrant Education Program in California has provided a wealth of services to migrant students since 1968, including home and center-based preschool programs, emergency medical and dental services, tutoring and extended instructional time, and support for out of school youth. This chapter outlines the state responsibilities to the federal government entitlement programs. By the very nature of migrant students’ mobility, migrant students are directly and indirectly impacted by the variance in state education programs and requirements. Claudia’s statement depicts how a simple gesture from a teacher that notices a student’s talents and strengths from a cultural wealth perspective has helped her family procure the cultural capital to gain access to higher education. The chapter concludes with the state level criteria and expectations with the lived reality at the local level, where each layer exposes a different purpose or value for success but shares the ultimate goal of educational equity and success for migrant children and youth.
