Conclusion-II

PERTAINING TO BASIC RESPONSIBILITY

The major responsibility for improvement of conditions among migrants rests in the community into which they go. Not only does the reason for the migrants' presence stem from the community, but the migrants contribute to the economy of the community which provides the health, education, religious, and welfare services which the residents enjoy.

The needs of migrants in different communities vary so greatly, they must be met at the local level. Understanding, interest in the welfare of migrants, and acceptance of the moral obligation to allow these contributors to our economy the same privileges and services which we demand, cannot be legislated. These come from an awareness of the facts and a conviction that it is right. Recommendation—II

Community councils or committees composed of various business, social, health, religious, and civic interests in the community help in improving the condition of the migrant and make possible his use of community services.

Conclusion-III

PERTAINING TO COMMUNITY ACCEPTANCE

Where efforts have been made in Illinois on behalf of the migrant in regard to education, health, housing, and recreation, community acceptance has naturally followed. Because there is a difference between verbal and emotional acceptance, the real test of community acceptance will follow the action taken by schools, churches, business, social agencies, health organizations, and professional people.

Recommendation-III

Business concerns, schools, churches, social, and health agencies in the community must accept the fact that they not only hold the key to the services which the migrants may need, but set the pattern for the community's acceptance of the migrant worker.

Conclusion-IV

PERTAINING TO EDUCATION

It is the legal responsibility of the boards of education of the school districts to see that all children in their school districts receive an education, including children of migrant workers. This conclusion is based upon material supplied by Mr. Hutson, legal attorney of office of public instruction who stated "That such children become residents of a school district the day that they arrive in that particular school district. According to article 6-25 of the School Code, a board of education is required to establish and keep in operation for at least 9 months in each year a sufficient number of free schools for the accommodation of all persons in the district over the age of 6 and under 21 years, and to secure for such persons the right and opportunity to have an equal education in such schools."

Recommendation-IV

The boards of school districts and their administrators, the school superintendents, should include the children of migrants in their school planning. Since the awareness of the problems and extent of legal responsibility is not generally known, it is further recommended that the office of public instruction and the county block organizations of the county superintendents hold meetings and use other methods of informing school administrators of the problems and their responsibility.

1 Opinion filed on Oct. 24, 1916, on Herbert Ashley, et al., appellants v. Board of Educa tion-written by Justice Dunne: "It is not essential to the right of a child to attend the public schools of the State that it should have a legal domicile in the place in which the school is held. The schools are required to be maintained for all persons in the district over the age of 6 and under 21 years of age. The residence required under this language is not such as would be required to establish the right to vote, or which would fix the liability of a township or county for the support of a pauper. The right to attend school is not limited to the place of the legal domicile.

"The only requirement so far as residence is concerned is dwelling in the school district. Every child of school age in the State is entitled to attend the public schools in the district in which it actualy resides for the time being, whether that be the place of its legal domicile or the legal domicile of its parents or guardians or not."

Conclusion-V

The local community attitude toward migrants has hindered, or slowed down the school boards in their development of educational programs for migrant children. These attitudes include lack of acceptance of responsibility for educating migrant children, fear and distrust caused by differences in cultural patterns, language, living conditions, and the shortness of their stay in the community. The superintendent and the principals set the tone of acceptance for the school. They are important in providing the leadership to help community residents become aware of the difficulties facing migrant children and to interpret what these difficulties mean for the community and society in general. Recommendation-V

The Illinois Education Association, the Illinois Association of School Boards, the Illinois Congress of Parents and Teachers, the American Association of University Women, churches, and other educational and citizens groups should initiate a plan for interpreting the responsibility of the community, whose economy requires the employment of migrants, for providing education for those children in spite of these differences in culture and the difficulties in administration.

Conclusion-VI

The migrant children arrive in school districts in large numbers in the spring, near the end of the school year, and may remain for weeks or months. Previous planning for influx of children is generally lacking in Illinois.

Recommendation—VI

The school boards should learn the number of children who may be expected and the approximate time of arrival. The Farm Employment Section of Illinois State Employment Service, agricultural agencies, and employers should be consulted to determine time of arrival and information about probable numbers. Prompt reporting of actual arrival of school age children should be made by the employers.

Conclusion-VII

The very nature of the migrant parents' employment, which is necessary to the agricultural economy, prevents the children from attending the full school year which other children enjoy. Therefore, some consideration should be given to the extension of a school program into the summer.

Recommendation-VII

The community, in consultation with school officials, should take responsibility for developing and providing such a voluntary summer school program. Conclusion-VIII

The varied levels of educational attainment and the fact that many children do not speak English make proper placement a major problem. The customary record for reporting transfers of schoolchildren is not practical for migrant children. Some special type of records must be developed for these children in order to facilitate proper placement.

Recommendation-VIII

Each school district should study the facilities available in its district in terms of housing, guidance services, and teachers and place each child to best meet his intellectual, social and emotional needs. School districts might examine some of the experiments and plans being used in some Illinois schools to accomplish this purpose, such as: Ungraded rooms, readiness rooms, special classes, Spanish speaking teachers, volunteer personnel and special transfer records. (See appendix for samples of these.)

Conclusion-IX

Migrant camps are generally in outlying districts and far from attendance centers. Transportation is another problem. In certain types of school districts, transportation is the responsibility of the school districts.

Recommendation-IX

In those districts furnishing transportation for resident children, a plan should be made to include migrant children. In other districts, special trans

portation plans should be developed. Employers, churches, civic organizations, and school personnel should initiate and help in the development of such plans. Conclusion-X

Cost of these programs for migrant children is a major difficulty. In some districts the school population is more than doubled by the influx of migrant children who swamp the facilities and drain the financial resources of the district. This situation is the result of our national and local economy. Underlying the difficulty at the local level is the inadequate tax base for support of public schools. Although migrant families admittedly add to the wealth of the community, both through their actual work and through direct spending, school coffers are not enriched in proportion to the increase in school age children. Recommendation-X

After a school district makes a reasonable effort to absorb the costs, we recommend that some formula or plan be worked out by the office of public instruction for State aid to the education of migrants similar to such programs as those for handicapped children and for distributive education. Increased aid should be provided to those school districts with large enrollment fluctuations. Conclusion-XI

A bushel of tomatoes is a bushel of tomatoes whether picked by a child or an adult. Many migrant families want to use their children to help increase the family's income. The Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits the employment of a child under 16 in agriculture during school hours. This act sets no minimum age for employment in agriculture before or after school hours on any school day, or at any time on school holidays and during school vacations.

Recommendation-XI

Child labor laws should afford the same protection to children in agriculture as they do in other employment. Organizations concerned with welfare of children should take responsibility for strengthening the child labor laws to include protection for children in agriculture including migrant children.

Conclusion-XII

More and more migrant families appreciate the advantages of education and want their children to be educated. However, many families are disinterested and some deliberately evade the attendance and child-labor restricting laws. Efforts to interest and encourage migrant parents to send their children to school have been generaly lacking in Illinois.

Recommendation-XII

The Agricultural Extension Service, in fuller discharge of its statutory obligation to the farm population, should provide educational assistance to agricultural migrant laborers in order to increase their skills and efficiency in agriculture, to improve the daily lives of their families and to help them learn the value of education as a way of bettering their lot.

Conclusion-XIII

There is a lack of text books, teaching materials, trained teachers, special funds for education of migrant children and evaluation of experience dealing with these problems. Each school district selects its own books to fit its school curriculum and has different methods of supplying these books and working materials. Since these children attend a number of schools during the year they may need several sets of books.

Recommendation-XIII

The office of public instruction should set up a committee of educators to pool and evaluate the experience and materials of those people working in this field and from this evaluation establish an appropriate program for educating the children of migrant workers.

Conclusion-XIV

In the early stages of developing a program to fit the special educational needs of the children of migrants without jeopardizing the education of resident children, it is recognized that a community may need to develop a program which is experimental and practical within the limits of facilities and resources then available.

Recommendation—XIV

Boards of Education are urged to start programs using all available resources and faciilties, which they ordinarily might not consider, so long as they are working toward the goal for providing the same opportunities and advantages to the migrant child as all others. Community organizations should take responsibility for obtaining information about the reasons for developing the programs in a certain manner, such as in separate buildings, separate classroom, or use of volunteer personnel and should give support to the officials who are striving to work out an educational program for the children of migrants. Conclusion-XV

Children of migrants are educationally handicapped children due to the mobile life necessitated by the occupation of their parents.

Recommendation-XV

A special program should be established within the State Office of Public Instruction to cope with the special handicaps and multiple problems confronting migratory children in securing equitable educational opportunities. A director or consultant should be assigned to advise, study, and recommend ways of adapting methods and curricula to the needs of this particular group of children. The personnel of this specialized division could work closely with local school districts to develop better techniques of integration and assimilation of migrant children into the school.

Conclusion-XVI

PERTAINING TO HOUSING

The provision of clean, sanitary housing1 is to the economic advantage of the employers of the migrant workers. Experience indicates that housing which satisfies the migrant workers is an important factor in influencing them to remain during the season and to return another season.

Recommendation-XVI

We urge that the Growers' and Processors' Associations, which employ migrants, include at their meetings discussions on housing and its relation to securing and holding workers. Such exchange of knowledge should advance the cause of improved housing.

Conclusion—XVII

No one plan for housing can be advocated, either for meeting the needs of migrants or as being practical for the employer. Migrant workers are used in Illinois for both short term crops (2 to 4 weeks) and long term (4 to 6 months). Some employers hire only unattached men; others hire adults with families or a combination of families and unattached persons.

Recommendation-XVII

People concerned with the development of housing should seek information about specific recommendations to best meet their particular needs. Several organizations have prepared resource materials which discuss housing in considerable detail. Among resource materials 2 which may be used are:

1. "Housing for Migrant Farm Workers," Cornell Miscellaneous Bulletin No. 15, College of Agriculture, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. (Includes illustrations of a suggested camp layout, living quarters, all designed for economy and durability of construction.)

The term housing as used in this report, includes "one or more buildings or structures, tents, trailers or vehicles, established, operated or used as living quarters for five or more workers."

Loan copies of these are available from the Illinois Commission on Children, 522 East Monroe Street, Springfield, Ill.

2. "Homes For Seasonal Farm Help," Farm Building Service Circular No. 711, Michigan State College Extension Service, East Lansing, Mich.

3. "Need Workers? You Have a Better Chance with Good Housing," Farm Placement Service, U.S. Employment Service, Washington 25, D.C. 4. Suggested Language for Regulations of Agricultural Labor Camps, The President's Committee on Migratory Labor, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington 25, D.C.

5. Employee Housing—Minimum Requirements for Construction and Maintenance Labor Code (Labor Camp Act), Division of Housing, Department of Industrial Relations, State of California, Industrial Relations Building, 965 Mission Street, San Francisco 3, Calif.

Conclusion-XVIII

While the committee cannot realistically advocate any one type of housing due to the variety of housing needs, there are certain minimum standards which should be included in planning for living facilities.

Recommendation—XVIII

Consideration should be given in the planning of living facilities for the following essentials: Safe water supply, sanitary toilet, bathing and laundry facilities, proper garbage storage and disposal, insect control, protection from weather, heating in season, cooking, eating, and recreational facilities.

Conclusion-XIX

The actual choice of the site for the shelter has a bearing on its usefulness both to the employer and to the migrant worker and his family. Recommendation-XIX

In choosing the site the following points should be given consideration. The workers prefer a location close to the job, that is shady and inviting, away from dust and noise, that affords some privacy, that has adequate parking facilities and a recreation area. Growers prefer a location that is safe from fire, close to farmstead, close to water and electricity, on well-drained land."

Conclusion-XX

Public Law No. 78 makes possible negotiable contracts with foreign governments in which minimum standards for foreign migrant workers are provided. There are no such minimum standards for U.S. migrant workers. Recommendation-XX

These minimum standards now required for foreign migrant laborers could serve as a guide for developing minimum standards of housing for domestic migrant laborer.*

Conclusion-XXI

In areas where the employers have met together and discussed their housing problems, there has been a marked trend of improvement in housing. Recommendation—XXI

We urge the continuation of these meetings and suggest that other groups of growers might also benefit from such formal or informal gatherings.

Conclusion-XXII

PERTAINING TO HEALTH-MEDICAL CARE

Because of circumstances caused by their employment, migrant workers present a different picture to the practicing physician than his "resident" patients: (1) The migrant worker is unaware of the name or the whereabouts of medical practitioners. (2) Migrant workers are usually unable to travel singly or in family groups, as they are dependent on the "crew leader" who owns the truck which brought them. (3) Migrants have had little contact with the medical

Adapted from "Homes for Seasonal Farm Help," Michigan State College. Information on the minimum requirements contained in the 1956 contract for migrant workers appears in the appendix of this report.