Home & Hospital Instruction Program Summary
Provides information on program purpose, services, outcomes, students served, and results for home and hospital instruction.Purpose
Program/Services
Outcomes
Funding
Students Served
Results
Frequently Asked Questions
Purpose
The purpose of home and hospital instruction is to provide instruction to a student with a temporary disability in the student’s home, a hospital, or other residential health facility, excluding state hospitals.
Under California Education Code (EC) Section 48206.3(b)(2)
, a temporary disability is defined as a physical, mental, or emotional disability incurred while a student is enrolled in regular day classes or an alternative education program, and after which the student can reasonably be expected to return to regular day classes or the alternative education program without special intervention.
A temporary disability does not include a disability for which a student is identified as an individual with exceptional needs pursuant to EC Section 56026
.
Program/Services
School districts shall notify parents at the beginning of a school term of the availability of individualized instruction for students with a temporary disability. (EC sections 48206.3[d]
and 48980
)
A student with a temporary disability who is in a hospital or other residential health facility, excluding a state hospital, located outside of the school district in which the student’s parent or guardian resides, shall be deemed to have complied with the residency requirements for school attendance in the school district in which the hospital in located. (EC Section 48207
)
It is the primary responsibility of the parent or guardian of a student with a temporary disability to notify the school district in which the student is deemed to reside of the student’s presence in a qualifying hospital. Within five working days following notification from the parent or guardian, the school district shall determine whether the student will be able to receive individualized instruction, and, if the determination is positive, when the individualized instruction may begin. Individualized instruction shall start no later than five working days after the positive determination has been made. (EC Section 48208
)
EC Section 48206.3(c)
specifies that for attendance accounting each clock hour of individualized instruction counts as one day of attendance. No student shall be credited with more than five days of attendance per calendar week or credited with more than the total number of calendar days that regular classes are offered by the district in any fiscal year.
EC Section 48207.3(a)
specifies that a student receiving instruction who is well enough to return to school shall be allowed to return to school, including a charter school, that the student attended immediately before receiving individual instruction, if the student returns during the school year in which the individual instruction was initiated.
EC Section 48207.3(b)
specifies that a student who attends a school operated by a school district or a charter school, who is subsequently enrolled in individual instruction in a hospital or other residential facility for a partial week, shall be entitled to attend school in their school district of residence, or receive individual instruction by the school district of residence in the student’s home, on days in which the student is not receiving individual instruction in a hospital or other residential health facility, if the student is well enough to do so.
EC Section 48207.5
specifies that individual instruction in a student’s home pursuant to EC Section 48206.3
shall commence no later than five working days after a school district has determined that the student shall receive this instruction.
Outcomes
The primary outcome of home and hospital instruction is to maintain a student at the student’s former level of performance while recovering from the temporary disability so as not to jeopardize the student’s future performance upon returning to a regular day class or alternative education program.
Funding
The General Fund apportionment is based on average daily attendance.
Students Served
Home and Hospital Instruction serves students with a temporary disability (EC Section 48206.3[b][2]
) that makes attendance in the regular day classes or alternative education program in which the student is enrolled impossible or inadvisable, excluding students with “exceptional needs” (EC Section 56026
).
Results
Students are prepared to return to their regular day class or an alternative education program at their former level of performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Can a student with a individualized education program (IEP) generate attendance through the home and hospital program?
No. Pursuant to California Education Code Section 48206.3(b)(2)
, home and hospital serves students who incur a temporary disability, which makes attendance impossible or inadvisable, and does not include students with an IEP.
Students with IEPs generate attendance based on traditional attendance accounting rules with regard to required supervision and the instructional day length is established per the provisions of the IEP. Services stated on the IEP need to be provided as written regardless of the student's setting.As such, students with IEPs do not generate home hospital attendance. A special education student who has an IEP must be educated consistent with their IEP. To educate a student with an IEP at home or in a hospital, the student's IEP must provide for that instruction. When the student is taught on a school day consistent with their IEP, then that student generates a "day of attendance" for that schoolday. If the student is taught at home or a hospital, it is reported just like any other attendance that the student generates, and not as a day of home hospital attendance.
-
May a school district or charter school continue to enroll a student with a temporary disability who is participating in a home and hospital program in order to facilitate the timely reentry of the student in their prior school after the hospitalization has ended?
Yes. While the home and hospital program cannot be offered through a charter school, California Education Code (EC) Section 48207(b)
states that the school district or charter school may continue to enroll a student who is receiving home and hospital instruct in order to facilitate the timely reentry of their prior school after the hospitalization has ended.If the student is enrolled at a charter school, the student would be able to maintain their place of enrollment at the charter school while also enrolled in the school district and participating in their home and hospital program (EC Section 48207.3[a]
). -
May a school district or charter school provide a partial week of instruction to a student who is participating in a home and hospital program for fewer than five days of instruction per week?
Yes, California Education Code Section 48207(c)(1)
states that for students who are participating in home and hospital instruction for fewer than five days of instruction per week, the student may attend a partial week of instruction, and be counted by the school district of residence or the charter school for the purpose of computing average daily attendance for days on which the student is in attendance in that school district or charter school. -
If the student remains enrolled in the school district of residence or a charter school while also receiving individual instruction in a hospital or other residential health facility, may the student still be counted for the purposes of average daily attendance at the hospital or other residential facility on the days the student received individual instruction at the hospital or other residential health facility?
Yes, California Education Code (EC) Section 48207(c)(2)
states that a student with a temporary disability who remains enrolled in the school district of residence or a charter school can still be counted for the purposes of computing average daily attendance on days in which the student receives individual instruction by another district through the hospital or other residential health care facility. EC Section 48207(d)
states, "The total attendance counted for the purposes of computing average daily attendance pursuant to Section 42238.05 for a pupil [student] with a temporary disability, including days of attendance in a hospital or other residential health facility, shall not exceed five days per week, or the equivalent, as described in subdivision (c) of Section 48206.3." -
Who ensures that a student participating in a home and hospital program is excused from absences at the student’s regular school until the student is able to return to the regular school program?
California Education Code Section 48240(c)
states that the supervisor of attendance shall ensure that the absences from the student’s regular school are excused while the student is participating in a home and hospital program. -
May the school district where the hospital or other residential health facility is located enter into an agreement with the school district in which the student previously attended regular day classes or an alternative education program to have the school district the student previously attended provide the student with individual instruction pursuant to California Education Code (EC) Section 48206.3
?Yes, EC Section 48208(b)(2)
states that the school district may enter into an agreement with the school district the student previously attended to provide individual instruction. The school district which the student previously attended will be provided with written notice that the student will not be counted by the district where the hospital is located for the purposes of computing average daily attendance.