Identification & Recruitment Consortium

MEP Eligibility Screener

A structured worksheet for screening Title I, Part C Migrant Education Program eligibility from a recruitment scenario. Answer what is known; leave the rest as Unknown — the tool will not guess.

Grounded in ESEA §1309 (as amended by ESSA) · 34 CFR §§ 200.81–200.89 · Title I, Part C Non-Regulatory Guidance (NRG)

01 Child / Youth Status

34 CFR §200.81(a) · the individual must be under 22 and not have earned a diploma or equivalency.

02 Qualifying Move

A residence-to-residence move, crossing a school district (or federally established administrative) boundary, made for economic necessity. Any factor indicating the move was made to earn or save money satisfies economic necessity — the family need not state a hardship in their own words.

03 Worker Qualification

NRG Ch. II · a qualifying move within 36 months, plus new temporary/seasonal ag or fishing work obtained within 60 days — or the Actively Sought exception.

04 Move Alignment & QAD

The child moved with, to join, or preceded the migratory worker — and if separated, within a reasonable timeframe (typically 12 months).

05 Nature of the Work

34 CFR §200.81 · must be agricultural or fishing production/initial processing, and temporary or seasonal — permanent employment does not qualify.

Determination Verdict

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Statutory Criteria Breakdown

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Statutory Justification & Citations

Recruiter Follow-Up & Interview Checklist

Date Calculator

Qualifying Arrival Date & Residency Date

Enter the dates below to calculate the Migratory Agricultural Worker (MAW) status window, the Qualifying Arrival Date (QAD), and the Residency Date for a scenario. This calculator performs date arithmetic only — it does not replace the eligibility criteria evaluated above.

A Migratory Agricultural Worker Status — Establishment

NRG Ch. II · MAW/MF status is established on the date the worker moved and obtained new qualifying temporary or seasonal agricultural/fishing work within 60 days. That status continues for 36 months from this date, and can be extended by a later qualifying move and new qualifying work.

B Qualifying Move & Child’s Arrival (QAD)

The Qualifying Arrival Date comes from the worker’s most recent qualifying move — a residence change, crossing a school district/administrative boundary, made for economic necessity — while MAW/MF status is active, with the child moving together with the worker, joining afterward, or preceding the worker — each of the latter two within about 12 months of the worker’s move. This can be the same move that established MAW/MF status above, or a later one within the 36-month window.

Enter the same date as the move above if the child moved together with the worker. If the child joined afterward, or arrived first and the worker joined later, this must be within 12 months of the worker’s move.

C Residency Date

The date the family moved into the child’s current school district of residence.

MAW Status Valid Through

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Qualifying Arrival Date

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Residency Date

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Date Calculation Breakdown

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Notes & Follow-Up

This calculator performs date arithmetic only, based on the timing rules in ESEA §1309 and 34 CFR §§200.81–200.89 (the 36-month Migratory Agricultural Worker window, the 60-day work-obtained window, and the ~12-month child alignment window). It does not evaluate the other eligibility areas above and is not a substitute for a trained ID&R recruiter’s judgment, a Certificate of Eligibility (COE), or state MEP office review.