Olathe District Schools

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OLATHE DISTRICT SCHOOLS

Homebound Services

Procedures Manual

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Purpose:

The Homebound Program is designed for students who are confined to their home or a hospital due to health conditions that make it impossible for the student to attend school and for incarcerated youth housed in facilities within the district boundaries. Services are provided to maximize the student’s potential to remain current with class requirements by completing assignments and learning activities, to continue to emphasize the importance of education, and to maintain the student’s school enrollment and success as a student.

Eligibility:

Homebound services may be provided to any student enrolled in an Olathe Public School. When relevant, verification of a medical diagnosis is provided by a qualified medical or mental health professional who has knowledge of the student’s condition and who has determined that the student is unable to attend school for a period of at least two weeks.

The following are examples of conditions or circumstances that could allow a student to be considered for Homebound services:

·  Confinement to home or hospital for treatment and/or recovery from an injury or medical condition

·  Pregnancy, for two weeks prior to the expected delivery date and up to six weeks after delivery Exceptions may be made for serious complications of pregnancy or delivery, which have been verified by a physician

·  Treatment in a hospital or other facility for a mental health condition

·  Admission to hospital or treatment center for substance abuse

·  Incarceration in county detention facilities within Olathe district boundaries

·  Identified disability, which interferes with regular school attendance/participation

·  Other unique circumstances resulting from recommendation by school teams/administrators

Anyone who has knowledge that the student is in need of services can initiate a request for Homebound support. A referral may be made through the identified building Homebound contact person or directly to the Homebound office.

In the case of students who are incarcerated, liaison services will begin when the Homebound Office is notified by detention center staff that the student is in class at the center. Homebound staff will collect assignments for those students, and teaching staff at the facility will provide instruction.

In the case of a referral for a medical need, a parent’s consent to verify that need is necessary. Consent can be indicated by signing the referral form or by giving verbal consent by phone.

A Medical Eligibility Form must be completed by the physician, or by a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist in the case of a mental health condition. This form is sent to the health care provider by Homebound staff. The Medical Eligibility Form is maintained in a file at the Special Services office. Obtaining the Eligibility form does not solely determine that services will be provided.

Once all the necessary documentation is received in the Homebound office, a meeting of the appropriate building team will be held to determine whether Homebound services are to be provided. The team can include the student’s parent(s), at least one member of the Student Intervention Team (SIT), and other personnel with relevant knowledge of the student’s needs. In determining whether Homebound services are appropriate, the team should consider the following:

§  Reasons that school attendance is impossible

§  An estimate of how long school attendance will be interrupted

§  Recommendations for reintegration to full school attendance

§  A review of the intervention measures taken to maximize school attendance including but not limited to such strategies as modifying assignment expectations or developing a flexible schedule

§  Review of attendance patterns

§  Review of class performance (grades, participation, assignment completion, etc.)

Unless otherwise agreed by team members, the plan should be reviewed every 30 days.

For students served by Special Education, The IEP case manager shall schedule an IEP team meeting to consider Homebound as a change of placement. When Homebound is determined by the team to be the delivery model of choice, the IEP must reflect the change in service delivery. Parents must indicate their agreement with this change by signing the Notice of Proposed Action (NOPA). The Homebound Coordinator shall participate in this IEP meeting.

The Homebound program is the most restrictive service delivery model available for students in our district. Therefore, it should be implemented over an extended period only when no other options are viable.

PROGRAM DESIGN

Students may require instruction in a variety of settings and circumstances. Olathe District Schools Homebound services are designed to meet student needs with either a direct instruction model or acting as a liaison between the home school and the facility where the student temporarily resides.

Liaison Services:

Many hospitals have their own education program and provide a teacher during the student’s stay. Direct instruction by a Homebound teacher from Olathe is therefore not necessary and in many cases not feasible because of the student’s hospital treatment schedule.

In this case, a “liaison teacher” - generally a member of the permanent Homebound staff - is responsible for coordination of services. That teacher serves as a liaison between the school and hospital. At the building level, a designated Homebound contact person is responsible for collecting assignments and the necessary materials to complete them. The Homebound teacher will collect materials from the school contact person and will structure a weekly assignment schedule that will then be shared with the hospital teacher. The liaison teacher communicates at least weekly with the hospital teacher to insure that the student is being successful in keeping up with his/her assignments and to insure that there will be a smooth transition when the student returns to school.

Throughout the hospitalization, the student’s teachers –both general and, when appropriate, special education - remain integral contributors to the success of the Homebound plan. The role of the liaison teacher is to transport assignments, to return completed work, and to communicate information regarding the student’s progress to the school in the form of a Weekly Report. It is the responsibility of the student’s classroom teachers to grade the returned assignments and to modify assignments as needed with an eye to the limitations of the student’s placement.

This model is also implemented for students who are incarcerated in the Juvenile Detention Center in Olathe. In general, a meeting will not be required to provide liaison services to general education students.

Direct Instruction Services:

A “Direct instruction” Homebound teacher will provide educational services to students who are receiving homebound instruction at home or in a hospital or residential facility that does not have an education program. The teacher will facilitate instructional services by collecting materials from the school contact person and presenting them to the student. The direct instruction teacher will prepare a written weekly report describing the student’s progress for the school counselor, the student’s parents and the homebound office.

Place of instruction:

Instruction may occur in the home or an alternative setting as determined by the building level team. When instruction is provided in the home, a responsible adult must be present. All direct instruction services will be provided within the boundaries of the Olathe School District.

Amount of instruction time provided:

Elementary students traditionally receive a maximum of five hours of instruction per week. In unique circumstances, with the recommendation of the building team additional hours of service may be provided.

Secondary students may receive approximately two hours per week per basic subject (math, science, English, and social studies) for a maximum not to exceed eight hours per week. With the recommendation of the building team, additional hours of service may be provided.

Responsibilities of Homebound Teachers Providing Direct Instruction:

Within 24 hours of accepting the assigned student, the Homebound teacher will contact the family to schedule the first instructional session and will discuss plans for future sessions as well. The first meeting with the student should occur, whenever possible, within 3 days of the initial contact.

The teacher will pick up assignments for the student at the home school as soon as they are available and will return for subsequent assignments on a weekly basis. Completed work will be returned to the school at least once each week. If tests are included in the packet of work provided for the student, the Homebound teacher will be responsible for personally monitoring completion of the assessments and for returning them to the school homebound contact person.

The Homebound teacher is responsible for providing sufficient instruction so that the student will know what he/she is to do on a given assignment and will be given adequate instruction to complete assignments independently.

Although the Homebound teacher may not be responsible for covering elective subjects with the student, the teacher will deliver any assignments provided by elective class teachers.

The Homebound teacher is not responsible for work assigned prior to the student’s being approved for homebound instruction. If the student has make-up work prior to the date homebound instruction began, the teacher may aid in devising a plan for the student to complete the work as independently as possible with parent involvement. Limited help may be given on previous assignments when it is necessary in order to proceed with current assignments.

PROGRESS MONITORING AND RETURN TO SCHOOL:

Under the liaison model, Homebound staff will request completion of a Weekly Report Form by the person providing service at the hospital or other facility. The form documents dates of participation, comments on the ability of the student to engage in learning activities, assignments completed, and other relevant remarks. When completed, the facility instructor returns these forms to the Homebound office. Copies are sent to the building level contact person and to the parents.

At least weekly throughout the student’s stay at the facility, the liaison teacher takes new assignments to the facility and returns completed work to the school.

Once a student is ready to exit the hospital or other treatment facility, a staffing should occur with the student, parent, agency staff, and school staff to discuss the student’s return, his/her course status, and accommodations needed to provide for a successful transition. This meeting will be coordinated by the district’s Mental Health Liaison.

Services will be formally terminated on the date indicated by the qualified health care provider on the Verification of Eligibility Form or when the student is released from the facility where he/she has been receiving services.

For all students returning to school, a summative report of academic progress while receiving Homebound support will be provided using a Homebound Closure Report which will be completed by Homebound staff. The original of this report will be maintained in the Homebound office. A copy will be given the building level contact person, and a copy will be mailed to the student’s parents.

1.  Except in very unique circumstances, Homebound services will not be provided to a student who is employed and able to work.

2.  If a student is placed in an out-of-state facility, parents will be responsible for picking up assignments and delivering the work to the student and for returning completed work to the school. The building level homebound contact person will inform the homebound office of such placements via phone, email, or personal contact. Homebound staff will inform the district’s mental health liaison about these placements.

3.  Homebound services are considered the most restrictive option on the continuum of services and should be considered a temporary solution. Homebound Services are not intended to replicate full school attendance.

4.  Homebound teachers are not responsible for duplicating activities, lectures, labs, or special projects being presented in the student’s classroom. Some school assignments or activities may need to be modified or made up when the student returns to school.

5.  The Homebound model cannot provide access to all aspects of the curriculum. Students will generally be unable to secure all credits for graduation from high school through Homebound services. If a student is struggling to meet traditional graduation requirements, teams may need to consider other appropriate options.

Revised 10/04/05