Purpose of Homebound and Hospitalized Service
Homebound and hospitalized services provide continuity of educational services for
pupils with medical conditions that prevent them from physically attending school
during the school year. The certification must be by a physician who is either an
M.D. or a D.O. or a licensed physician’s assistant; psychologists, chiropractors, or
other professionals may not certify a person as eligible.
Homebound and hospitalized services are designed to be a self-study program that
allows pupils to maintain their coursework and studies while they are unable to
attend school. These services allow the classroom teacher to work through the
homebound and hospitalized teacher to help distribute course materials, deliver
instruction, and monitor pupil progress in the course.
Public School District Responsibility
Each district or intermediate district shall provide appropriate instructional services,
as determined by the district or intermediate district, to an enrolled pupil who is
certified by a physician who is either an M.D. or a D.O. or a licensed physician’s
assistant as having a medical condition that requires the pupil to be hospitalized or
confined to his or her home during regular school hours and that is expected to
require the hospitalization or confinement for a period longer than five school days.
The district or intermediate district may provide the services itself or may contract
with an intermediate district, a hospital, a treatment center, or another district to
provide the services. In choosing a provider for the instructional services, the
district or intermediate district shall consider which of those potential providers is
best able to deliver the appropriate instructional services. The district or
intermediate district shall pay reasonable costs as agreed upon between the district
or intermediate district and the provider for services provided to a pupil under this
section.
The school is responsible for the delivery of all content of the homebound and
hospitalized instruction, the textbooks required for the course and related
materials, as well as course assignments and grading.
The school district is required to provide a minimum of two 45-minute instructional
periods per week for general education pupils; or, a minimum of two
nonconsecutive 60-minute instructional periods per week for pupils with an IEP. The
two one-hour sessions for a pupil with an IEP may be on the same day; however,
there must be an adequate break between the two sessions.
Homebound and Hospitalized Services Teacher Responsibility
The homebound and hospitalized services teacher will work with the pupil, parent or
legal guardian, and a physician who is either an M.D. or a D.O. or a licensed
physician’s assistant on the following items:
- Identify any physical limitations or learning impairments that will affect the
pupil’s ability to study, including those imposed by the treatment program. - Identify factors imposed by the treatment program that could limit or impede
instruction. - Identify ways to maximize the instructional experience.
- Determine precautions needed to protect the pupil and teacher from
communicable disease. The local community health department can provide
consultation. - Maintain contact with the pupil’s classroom teacher to receive direction on
instructional services provided. - Deliver coursework to and from the pupil’s classroom teacher.
The homebound and hospitalized services teacher will provide a minimum of two
periods of instruction per week through the duration of the prolonged absence. The
homebound and hospitalized services teacher will take assignments to the pupil,
provide support to the parents or other care givers so they can help guide the pupil
in the instruction, provide tutorial services to help the pupil gain basic information
to complete assignments, and to provide other support that might be useful in
helping the pupil maintain as much academic progress as possible while temporarily
away from school.
Classroom Teacher Responsibility
The classroom teacher will identify the specific subject areas and content that the
pupil should study while away from school. The classroom teacher will determine
the priority of each subject matter, considering the pupil’s present level of
achievement and instructional needs. The classroom teacher will provide all
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relevant course material to the homebound and hospitalized services teacher while
the pupil is away from school. The classroom teacher will maintain the grade book,
assignments, quizzes, and assessments for the teacher even if conducted using a
separate homebound and hospitalized services teacher.
Parent Responsibility
Michigan law requires a parent, legal guardian, or other person having control or
charge of a child age six to sixteen to send the child to school during the entire
school year, except under certain limited circumstances [MCL 380.1561]. The
exceptions include, but are not limited to, sending a child to a state-approved
nonpublic school or educating the child at home in an organized educational
program.
A district or intermediate district is required to provide instructional services under
subsection (1) to a pupil placed in a hospital, treatment center, or other treatment
facility without the district’s or intermediate district’s prior knowledge only if the
district or intermediate district is notified of the pupil’s placement by the hospital,
treatment center, facility, or the pupil’s parent or legal guardian. Parents are
responsible for notifying the school district when the pupil is going to be
homebound or hospitalized for a period longer than five consecutive school days.
Parents should notify the school administrator in writing with the name of the
physician who is either an M.D. or a D.O. or a licensed physician’s assistant or
hospital and authorize the release of enough information to allow the school district
to determine eligibility.
When the pupil is homebound, the parent should:
- Provide access to the pupil’s home and help schedule teacher visits so they do
not conflict with medical treatments. - Provide an appropriate environment and the necessary supervision for their child
to complete assignments. - Help the child schedule time for study, ensuring appropriate instructional
materials are available and at hand. - Support the child with learning activities to the extent possible as agreed upon
with the teacher.
While parents should encourage the child to keep up with schoolwork, they should
not do the work for the child. If the parent feels assignments are too difficult or
feels the child does not have the prerequisite skills needed to carry out the
assignments, the parent should discuss this with the homebound and hospitalized
service teacher or the classroom teacher.
Pupil Responsibility
To ensure successful completion of the course or assignment(s), the pupil should:
- Ask for assistance and/or clarification as needed to complete assignments.
- Attend to the class activities to the extent that they are physically capable.
- Return materials and supplies after completing assignments.
- Continue to work with the teacher(s) of record to do any extra work needed so
that the pupil has minimum competencies needed to complete the subject or
grade, after returning to school.
Eligibility
Pupils must be enrolled in a public school in Michigan in order to receive
Homebound and hospitalized services. An enrolled pupil who is certified by a
physician who is either an M.D. or a D.O. or a licensed physician’s assistant,
hospital, or licensed treatment facility, as having a medical condition that requires
the pupil to be hospitalized or to be confined to the home during regular school
hours for a period longer than five (5) consecutive school days, is eligible for
services. This includes pupils in psychiatric hospitals, substance abuse centers, or
pupils placed in other medical facilities by the parent or medical practitioners.
The district must, within three days after being notified by a parent or legal
guardian, plan to provide these services if the following conditions are met:
- The pupil is enrolled in the public school district and assigned to an appropriate
general or special education program. - The pupil is unable to attend school because of medical condition.2 Pupils who
can attend school part-time are expected to do so and do not qualify for
homebound and hospitalized service.
Hours and Duration of Instruction
General education pupils must receive a minimum of two 45-minute periods of
instructional service per week [R 340.5]. Pupils with an IEP must receive a
minimum of two nonconsecutive one-hour periods of instructional service per week
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[R 340.1746]. The two one-hour sessions for a pupil with an IEP may be on the
same day; however, there must be an adequate break between the two sessions.
Homebound services will be provided during regular school hours unless otherwise
scheduled by the district. The district is responsible to make homebound and
hospitalized service available when a pupil’s classes are in session. For most pupils,
the program will begin in September and end in June with Christmas and spring
breaks. Pupils attending school year-round or on a balanced calendar will receive
service based on the schedule of the buildings.