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These are the answers to the scenarios sent out on the 1st of the month.
Scenario 1- Harvesting Hops
A recruiter on November 13th, 2020 meets a family in Boise, Idaho. The family has four children (Ana aged 5, Sarah aged 7, Julio aged 8, and Ronaldo aged 10) enrolled in the local elementary school. The mother arrived from Yakima, Washington on August 1st, 2020 with the three youngest children so they could get enrolled in school and begin the semester. The father moved with Ronaldo on June 1st, 2020 to Bonners Ferry, Idaho from Yakima, Washington to work on a farm harvesting hops. The father moved with the oldest child from Bonners Ferry, Idaho to Boise, Idaho on October 1st, 2020 after the season had finished.

Are the children Eligible for MEP? If yes, which children are eligible?

Yes, all four children, Ana, Sarah, Julio, and Ronaldo, are eligible for the Migrant Education Program and meet the requirements for being considered migrant children as laid out in Chapter II QA1 of the Migrant Education Program Non-Regulatory Guidance.

All four children are younger than 22 years of age and have not yet completed school. All four children made a qualifying move from one school district in Washington state to Boise, Idaho. The oldest child Ronaldo made the qualifying move with his father who is a migratory agricultural worker. The three youngest children moved to precede the migratory agricultural worker so they could enroll early in school.

If the children are eligible for MEP, what is their Q.A.D. date?

The Qualifying Arrival Date for all four children in the family would be October 1st, 2020. 

October 1st, 2020 is the Q.A.D. for Ronaldo because that is the date they made a qualifying move with their father who is a migratory agricultural worker.

October 1st, 2020 is the Q.A.D. for the three younger children because that is the day the migratory agricultural worker, their father, moved to join them in the new school district. This completed the qualifying move for the three young children.


If the children are eligible for MEP, what is their Residency date?

According to page 4 of the National COE Instructions the residency date is the date the child moved to the present school district.

The residency date for Ronaldo is October 1st, 2020 because that is when they arrived in the Boise school district.

The residency date for the three younger children is August 1st, 2020 because that is the date the children arrived in the Boise school district.

If the children are eligible for MEP, how many COEs are needed?

According to page 3 of the National COE instructions a recruiter must fill out a separate COE for any child that has separate eligibility criteria from the other children.

In this scenario 2 COEs are required. Ronaldo's eligibility criteria is different from their siblings because they moved with the migratory agricultural worker instead of moving to precede the migratory agricultural worker. The recruiter would need to complete 1 COE for Ronaldo and 1 COE for the other children.
Your responses
100% of respondents said this family was eligible.
Decisions were split on the QAD date and the number of COEs needed.
Scenario 2- Lobster Peak

On January 4th, 2020 a recruiter in Portland, Maine meets a family who arrived on June 11th, 2018 to work catching lobster. The worker arrived with their two children (ages 8 and 14) to work for five months during the lobster peak season. After the peak season was finished the owner of the fishing operation asked the worker to stay on to help sort the lobsters and then to help with some repair work on the boats. When the recruiter spoke to the worker in 2020 he was still working for the same fishing company.

Are the two children eligible for MEP?
No, the children in this scenario are not eligible for the Migrant Education Program. The children are not eligible because the worker cannot be considered a Migratory Agricultural Worker because their employment on the lobster farm lasted for longer than 12 months. 

According to Chapter II QG7 pg. 30 of the Non-Regulatory Guidance any worker that performs a series of different jobs, which together lead to the worker being employed by the same employer for more than 12 months cannot be considered to be employed in temporary or seasonal work.

If the children are eligible, what is the Q.A.D?
There is no Q.A.D. because the children are not eligible.

If the children are eligible, what was the qualifying activity of the Migratory Agricultural Worker? Was the work seasonal or temporary?
There is no qualifying activity. The work cannot be considered seasonal or temporary. Despite performing several jobs that independently could be considered seasonal or temporary, the worker continued to work at the same employer for longer than 12 months. Any time a worker who remains employed with the same employer for longer than twelve they no longer meet the requirements for a migratory agricultural worker described in the Non-Regulatory Guidance.
What do you think about Scenario 2?
Your responses: 26% of you said no they are not eligible
76% said yes they are eligible.
Scenario 3- Picking Tomatoes
A father and his daughter, aged 16, moved from Charleston, South Carolina to Naples, Florida on July 2nd, 2020 and began work picking tomatoes. At the end of tomato season the family bought a boat in Naples Florida and sailed the boat along the coast to Gulfport, Mississippi to work for a company catching oysters for four months. The family arrived in Gulfport on October 1st, 2020. After the work was over, the father and daughter liked Mississippi and moved out of their boat to a house they were renting in the same school district on December 10th, 2020. The father made sure to enroll the daughter in high school and in January began working for a local marina cleaning boats.

Is the daughter eligible for MEP?
Yes, the daughter is eligible for the Migrant Education Program as she meets all the requirements for being considered migrant children as laid out in Chapter II QA1 of the Migrant Education Program Non-Regulatory Guidance.

The daughter is under the age of 22, has not completed school, and made a qualifying move with her father who is a migratory agricultural worker. 

Chapter II QD9 on page 22 of the Non-Regulatory Guidance says that students and workers are allowed to make qualifying moves by boat from one school district to another as long as they are staying in the new location long enough for the move to be considered from one residence to another.

If the daughter is eligible, what is the Q.A.D?
The Qualifying Arrival Date is October 1st, 2020 when the family arrived in Gulfport, Mississippi. The move on December 10th is not a qualifying move because it is not from one school district to another.

If the daughter is eligible, what was the qualifying activity of the Migratory Agricultural Worker?
The qualifying activity of the migratory agricultural worker is "catching oysters." Oyster catching is considered fishing work and can be considered temporary or seasonal depending on the state. The worker in this scenario told the recruiter they worked catching oysters from October to January before getting another job washing boats. The worker's statements confirms the work catching oysters was in fact temporary work in fishing and makes the father a migratory agricultural worker.
What do you think about Scenario 3?

Your responses: 100 % of you said she was eligible. Answers were split on different QAD dates as well as the qualifying activity.
Scenario 4- Dairy Outbreak

A recruiter in Madison, Wisconsin finds a worker who moved to the area to work on a dairy outside of the city. The worker is 18 and never completed high school. They had been hired by the dairy but when they arrived there was an outbreak of COVID-19 amongst the workers on the dairy. The outbreak made the dairy put a hold on letting new employees begin work and as a result they could not begin working until 70 days after the move. The state has documentation allowing for migratory agricultural workers to begin working longer than 60 days after the move if it is due to Covid-19. The worker told the recruiter they only plan on working at the dairy for 10 months.

Is the worker eligible for mep?
Yes, the OSY worker is eligible for the Migrant Education Program. The OSY meets all of the requirements laid out in Chapter II QA1 of the Migrant Education Program Non-Regulatory Guidance.

The OSY is under the age of 22, has not completed their schooling, and made a qualifying move as the migratory agricultural worker.

Despite not engaging in work within 60 days after the move, the OSY can still be considered to be a migratory agricultural worker because they provided a state accepted excuse for engaging in work outside of the "soon after the move" window. Chapter II QC5 pg. 16 of the Non-regulatory guidance provides the definition of "soon after the move" and states that workers can engage in work outside of the 60 days window as long as it is supported by written evidence provided by the state.

If the worker is eligible, how many comments are needed on the COE?
Two separate comments would be needed on the COE. According to the COE comments are required for when the worker engages in new agricultural or fishing work outside of the 60 day "soon after the move" window and when the qualifying activity performed by the migratory agricultural worker is considered to be temporary.

If comments are necessary, what information would the comments need to include on the COE?
The first comment to explain why the worker did not engage in new qualifying work within 60 days of the move would require a comment stating what the reason is the worker provided as to why they could not engage in qualifying work within those 60 days and any reference or link to state documentation approving the stated reason.

A second comment would be required to explain how the recruiter knows the work is temporary. This comment should include the worker's statement that they only plan on working at the dairy for 10 months.
What do you think about Scenario 4?
Your responses: 92% said the worker is eligible with
8 % saying the worker is not eligible. Responses were split on the number of comments needed.
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