Specifications include, but are not limited to: The Department of Education (Department) is seeking proposals for the outreach, enrollment and service provision for eligible migratory children in Maine according to Title I, Part C of the Every Student Succeeds Act as defined in this Request for Proposal (RFP) document. This document provides instructions for submitting proposals, the procedure and criteria by which the awarded Bidder will be selected, and the contractual terms which will govern the relationship between the State of Maine (State) and the awarded Bidder. The Migrant Education Program (MEP) is a federal education program designed to ensure that all migratory children reach challenging academic standards and graduate with a high school diploma (or complete a GED) that prepares them for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment. The Department is seeking proposals to provide the proper and timely outreach and enrollment of eligible migratory children and to provide academic and support services to these students according to the Maine MEP Service Delivery Plan (SDP). The Migrant Education Program (MEP) was established by the United States Department of Education in 1966. The program is part of Title I Part C of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 and most recently reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. It was established to meet the unique educational and social needs of migratory children between the ages of 3 through 20 years old. The program celebrates and exercises its legacy of civil rights by ensuring equal access to a high-quality education for all migratory children. Program funds support high quality education programs for migratory children and help ensure that migratory children who move among the states are not penalized in any manner by disparities among states in curriculum, graduation requirements, or state academic content and student academic achievement standards. Funds also ensure that migratory children not only are provided with appropriate education services (including supportive services) that address their special needs but also that such children receive full and appropriate opportunities to meet the same challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards that all children are expected to meet. Federal funds are allocated by formula to State Education Agencies (SEAs), based on each state’s per pupil expenditure for education and counts of eligible migratory children, age 3 through 20, residing within the state. The Maine MEP is aligned with the Department’s whole student approach. The goal of this program is to support students’ access to education by acknowledging the unique barriers this group of students may face. Barriers are defined as experiences or conditions that students or families identify as limiting a student’s ability to achieve his or her educational goals. They can include but are not limited to basic needs, transportation, medical or mental health needs, not feeling welcome, or lack of supplies or extracurricular equipment. These needs are based on a holistic view of the child, as an individual, with ranging needs that extend beyond the classroom. The Maine MEP conducts outreach and enrollment to identify those students who are eligible for the MEP and provide regular school year, seasonal and summer services to address these needs according to the Maine MEP SDP. There is a focus on the three target approaches to service delivery: Seasonal Instructional Support, Educational Transition Support, and System Advocacy and Policy Support. This focus ensures that service providers aim to maximize the program impact for MEP students, ultimately promoting high school graduation and successful transition into college or career opportunities. This Department is seeking a provider to conduct outreach, enrollment, services to migratory children throughout the state of Maine. This work will take place statewide, as determined by where the eligible migratory children reside. Currently, the majority of migratory children in Maine are in Washington County, but there are migratory children that live in every county in the state. Families that have qualified may have a home language other than English, and the provider should be prepared to conduct outreach to, enroll and serve families in many languages.
