For migrant children who move from school to school, vouchers offer stable access to learning
The Senate Education Committee recently held a Work Session about Washington’s Migrant Education Program (MEP), a supplemental education program for migrant students, who are low-income, minority children.
Migrant students must often travel with their families as parents seek employment. Migrant students have their learning interrupted because traditional school districts are not organized for mobile students. Their parents lack school choice, and often feel powerless and intimidated by school officials. The federal MEP program was created in 1966, more than 60 years ago, yet migrant students still lag in academic achievement, and only 68 percent of Washington’s migrant students earned a high school diploma in 2016-17.
If the policy goal over five decades has been to give migrant children an equal chance at a good education, any honest observer would have to admit the program is a failure.
Terry Garrett, Director, Migrant and Bilingual Education, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), told the Senate Committee that Washington receives $24.6 million in federal MEP funding for about 30,000 migrant students. She said $14 million of these funds, or only 60 percent, are provided to the local school districts. The remaining 40 percent is taken by OSPI and four Education Service Districts (ESDs) for administration.
At the Work Session, Senator Hans Zeiger pointedly asked “what kind of oversight do we have to make sure that this money is following the students?” (At 1:05:26)
Good question. The problem of funding being diverted to support deep-state bureaucracies, and away from students, remains a big problem.
Maia Espinoza, Executive Director of the Center for Latino Leadership, reported that:
“…Migrant students who are eligible for these additional resources are not receiving them...” At 1:11:34
Other witnesses told the Committee:
Alice Castilleja-Lara, retired teacher and school administrator from Yakima said migrant programs are being poorly administered.
Alice Villanueva, retired teacher from Yakima School District, said local teachers working with migrant students are discouraged because they are told there are no funds to help them.
Dr. Fabian Castilleja, former migrant student, former school principal, and currently a teacher in the Shoreline School District, observed migrant students could be helped by the flexibility now allowed in the new federal education law over the use of funds.
Raul Sital, principal of Pasco High School, and former migrant student, said the migrant program is overhead-heavy, and burdened with rules that require students to be pulled out of Advanced Placement programs in order to get help.
For 60 years, federal, state, and local agencies have tried and failed to improve migrant education. Officials have placed new regulations and requirements on the program, steadily taking authority away from the people closest to the children.
Imposing yet more rules is not the answer. The solution is to give eligible parents the right to receive a federal learning voucher, if they want one. That way all the funding, not just some declining percentage, would reach students. Parents with an educational voucher could give the money to local schools, teachers, tutors, online courses and other learning options.
Learning vouchers are fully portable, so they are ideal for families who must move frequently in search of work.
An educational voucher would allow parents to direct public spending in the best way for their children. Parents are committed to the long-term success of their children. Vouchers give options to parents, so they can help their children succeed. Vouchers can easily move with hard-working families to the next job site, and are especially suited to the unique learning needs of migrant students.
After decades of failure and losing 40% of funding to administration, isn’t it time for a fresh approach? We could at least try it – migrant children and families may find that an educational voucher provides the stability and learning environment their children need most.