Compulsory Attendance Bulletin

Revised Section 1103 for Compulsory Attendance

Reference: Bulletin 741 – Louisiana Handbook for School Administrators Chapter 11. Student Services 1103 Compulsory Attendance 

A student who is enrolled in regular education or special education and who, as a result of health care treatment, physical illness, accident, or the treatment thereof, is temporarily unable to attend school, shall be provided instructional services in the home or hospital environment. (Homebound Instruction)

Homebound Instruction shall be provided by a properly certified teacher once all required forms have been completed and signed by the school principal and the Homebound Supervisor.

If the regular education student has not been previously identified as a student with a disability that already has an IAP in effect, then an IAP must be completed to show individual testing in the case that any state/district test needs to be administered to the student at home.

Homebound instruction, at a minimum, shall be provided in the core academic subjects: English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.

Consideration shall be given to the individual need for services beyond the core academic subjects for students with disabilities.

Homebound services may be provided via a consultative model (properly certified regular or special education teacher when appropriate, consults with the homebound teacher delivering instruction) for students needing such services less than 20 days during a school year.

Upon receipt of Hospital Homebound application paperwork from the student’s home school counselor, the Hospital Homebound Program supervisor will assign a homebound teacher for that student. The student’s parent or legal guardian will be contact to schedule homebound sessions. Keep in mind that the homebound teacher could have as many as ten or eleven other students on their roll and scheduling can be challenging as the Hospital Homebound teachers follow regular school hours.

Assurance of the Effectiveness of the Program

Effectiveness of the program is assured by following these guidelines:

-On-site observations and evaluation by the homebound supervisor
-Weekly instructional schedules submitted to the Homebound Supervisor
-Copies of grades submitted within one week of the ending date
-Telephone contact by the supervisor to the student’s school
-Telephone contact by the supervisor to the student’s parent/guardian
-Conferences between the Homebound Teacher and the Supervisor 
-In-service meetings
-Hospital Homebound attendance accountability form
-Providing parent with the Return to School After Medical Absence Form and Exit Form

Books and Supplies

It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to pick up their child’s textbooks from their home school. Supplies (pencils, pens, paper, etc.) are also the responsibility of the student’s part or guardian. Students should be dressed for their Homebound lessons just as they would if they were attending on their school campus. The environment at home should be made as educationally conducive as possible with all music and televisions turned off during the student’s important one-on-one lesson.

Assignments

The Hospital Homebound teacher will attempt to maintain the student’s standing in class so that after returning to school the student will not be at a disadvantage. Therefore, it is essential that the Hospital  Homebound teacher have access to teacher assignments, study guides, student workbooks, lecture notes, and evaluation instruments all designed from the Common Core State Standards for core subjects and Louisiana comprehensive Curriculum for other courses. In order to maximize instructional time with students, the Hospital Homebound teacher will visit the school to pick up assignments and materials periodically.

School Contact Designee

Each school is expected to designate a contact person to assist in implementing necessary communication between classroom teachers and homebound teachers, thus insuring an orderly transition from school to home and back to school. the school counselor or AP usually serves. 

Hospital Homebound Progress Reports

At least one day prior to the end of each reporting period and upon termination of services, the homebound teacher will submit a grade in each subject area for the period of homebound instruction. The school will accept grades as submitted and average them with grades earned before and/or after the homebound period to determine the official grades for the student’s report card and enter the grade in the computer. The Exceptional Student’s progress report, which addresses the level of achievement on the student’s IEP goals and/or objectives, will be turned in at the designated time indicated on the Exception Student’s IEP.

Supplemental Materials

Supplemental materials of instruction and supplies will be provided to the homebound teacher by one or more of the following:

-The homebound student’s classroom teacher
-Individual school libraries
-Homebound teachers/Homebound Office/Resource Room
-East Baton Rouge Parish Public Library
-Louisiana State Library
-The internet
-The LRCE

The Homebound teacher is responsible for the following:

-Contacting the parent or guardian to determine the need for services and arranging a schedule to begin instruction
-Scheduling a meeting with the classroom teachers to pick up assignments, coursework, outline, answer keys, and any other materials necessary to support the student’s instructional program
-Developing and implementing a Homebound educational plan that will facilitate academic progress and met the instructional requirements of the student’s current educational program
-Providing progress reports and report cards as scheduled by the local school system
-Providing assistance with the student’s re-entry into school if necessary

Parents are responsible for the following:

-Notifying the school when it has been determined that the student will be out of school for longer than ten (10) consecutive school days for a qualifying illness – it is recommended that the parent or guardian notify the school administrator in writing
-Providing the name of the attending physician to authorize the release of medical 
-Assisting the child with instructional activities and ensuring appropriate instructional materials are available
-Secure student’s textbooks from home school

I. Notification: The Hospital Homebound (HH) teacher is notified by the HH Program by phone/fax/email or in person and given the following student information:

A. Student Info: Name, grade, home school, placement (Regular or Exceptional Student), and reason for requiring Homebound service. If the student is an Exceptional student, their exceptionality will be noted.

B. Parent/Guardian Info: Name, phone (work and/or home, cell), and address

C. Homebound duration: Beginning and ending date for Homebound service

II. Pick up at the Homebound office (Choctaw Administrative Center, room #29):

A. Pick up: two copied of the approved Hospital Homebound Application (one for your file folder and the other to be given to the parent at the initial session).

B. If the student is an Exceptional Student, a “current IEP” will be provided by the SENDING school when the application is sent to the Homebound office. An IEP should be opened before Homebound services can begin. The Homebound teacher should be invited to the IEP meeting. The Homebound department will provide the name and email of the Homebound teacher assigned.

1. If it is decided by the IEP committee that this Homebound student will require a new evaluation to place them as Homebound on IEP, Pupil Appraisal Services will be notified to begin that process.
2. If the student already has Homebound placement on the IEP, then it is the Homebound teacher’s responsibility to:

a. Maintain the student’s Yellow Folders (both History and Current) at the student’s home school
b. Write the IEP no later than 30 days before the anniversary end date of the IEP
c. Plan and conduct the IEP meeting and all its facets using IEPlus and SER programs

C. If the student is an Exception Student and expelled from an Alternative school, an evaluation process is started at the Manifestation Determination Meeting culminating in a Review IEP that contains a change of placement to Homebound until the end of the current school year. The Homebound application Form 3 will accompany the Exceptional Student documents after the process is completed.

1. The Alternative school teacher will update that IEP to reflect Homebound time after the NEW Evaluation is completed by PAS to indicate new placement in Homebound
2. You will work closely with the lead teacher to assist by contacting/notifying the participants to schedule a proposed time for the IEP meeting; obtain a print out of the Prior Notice and pony or mail it to those participants 

a. No hand written Prior Notices, please – only computer generated Prior Notices will be accepted

3. You will be provided the IEP or instructed on how to print it out from the Web IEP program in order to schedule and hold the IEP meeting with invited participants. The Homebound teacher will then return the IEP to the lead teacher for further processing, copying, and dissemination to participants and Special Ed. Records Room.

D. Pick up a blank RETURN TO SCHOOL AFTER MEDICAL ABSENCE form. Teachers will remind the parents to fill this out in a timely manner for the student’s return to school.

E. Pick up the Exit Letter that will notify the parent in advance that their child will be exiting homebound at the designated end date. Give the Exit Letter to the parent one to two weeks prior to the Homebound end date. 

1. Important Note: You must obtain permission from your supervisor to continue Homebound services after the Homebound end date without a medical or administrative extension. A medical extension in the form a letter from the attending physician on his letterhead stationary stating the need for extension as well as why and how long the extension is required. The school’s administrative extension would be done through an administrative decision. emphasize that Homebound services end on Hospital Homebound Application “end date” without exception. Communicate this to the parent/guardian at first contact.

III. Contact Log: Each student must have a CONTACT LOG as a part of his or her records on file

A. Phone and personal contacts will be written in this log. Log will be shared with the Homebound supervisor monthly or as deemed necessary

B. The log will indicate absences with the reason and/or excuse. A separate Student Attendance Roll Book will be used to record attendance as follows: 

E = initial visit 
1 = first absence (circle if excused, place an X over the absence number if officially unexcused)
2 = second absence (circle if excused, place an X over the absence if officially unexcused – if unexcused, report this to your supervisor as well as report any students you cannot find)
D = end date for Hospital Homebound

C. If the student is not at home for scheduled Hospital Homebound sessions, log this occurrence and leave a note indicating you were there. In the note, remind the student and parent of the absentee rule: one missed Hospital Homebound session equals 2.5 regular school days, If this happens again, the student will have been absent of 5 days and East Baton rouge Parish School System’s child Welfare and Attendance will be notified. Report these unexcused absences to Mr. Newman (see item VI in this directive) and the attendance clerk at the home school. the school will follow through with contacting CW&A

IV. Initial Parent Contact: contact the parent(s)/guardian(s) as soon as possible. Cover the following items on the initial phone call or other contact. If phone contact does not work, go to the home for initial contact. If no one is home, leave a message indicating the need for communication, the purpose of your visit, and your phone number. If these methods fail, notifying Mr. Newman of your continued attempts and discuss sending a registered letter to the home. Be sure you have the correct address/phone number by checking eSchoolPlus or with the guidance counselors at the home school and/or attendance clerk. They may possess new information about this student.

A. Identify yourself: (Mr. ___ or Mrs. ___ ) Always speak with the parent or guardian when communicating concerns about student. You must establish a dialogue with the parent from the beginning to the end of Homebound service so that the responsible individual for that student is always involved with his or her child’s instruction. Important note: if you communicate with the parent through the student, he or she may translate information you discuss with them to the parent differently or slanted toward their needs. Be aware that parents will likely believe what their child says you said and may receive incorrect information as a result. Log your contacts at all time.

B. Discuss student’s condition of health: Psychological health (if offered), behavior etc. If special education or otherwise, ask about medications, direct or related services received privately or from EBRPSS. This will be needed to write correct General Student Information in the IEP (or IAP for regular ed. students). Ask about prescription glasses and other augmentative devices such as hearing aids, computer switches, etc.

C. Discuss date/time for initial Hospital Homebound session. Be sure the parent understands that a mature, responsible adult must be present in the home during the entire Homebound instruction session.

D. Inform the parent/guardian and student that you will be requesting assignments from each classroom teacher on their schedule and checking the Cumulative folder, school, and/or eSchoolPlus concerning past academic performance, behavior and test scores. However, ask about their impressions of their academic progress. Ask what they feel are their child’s academic strengths and weaknesses. Inform the parent/guardian that you will obtain a copy of the up-to-date scores from the school Cumulative folder.

E. Ask if they have everything they need from the school to facilitate their child’s educational experience while on Homebound. Supplies are responsibility of the parent/guardian.

What is the Hospital Homebound Instructional Program?

Hospital Homebound is an instructional program provided to regular or special education students who are unable to attend school because of a medical condition. Students receive instruction in the hospital or home environment to help them keep up with their coursework while absent from school for a qualifying medical illness.

Are Homebound and Homestudy the same instructional program?

No. Homebound services are provided in the hospital or home environment by teachers assigned through the local education agency. Homestudy students, also referred to as “homeschool students,” receive instruction from their parents in the home environment.

Who is eligible for Hospital Homebound?

Public school students certified by their attending physician as having a medical condition that requires the student to be away from school for a period longer than 10 consecutive school days.

Where do parents apply?

Parents may apply at the student’s school or at the local school board office.

Who will teach my child?

Student should be taught by a properly certified teacher assigned by the local education agency, especially if services will be needed for a period longer than 20 school days. Services may be provided via a consultative model (properly certified regular or special education teacher consults with the Homebound teacher delivering instruction) for students needed such services for less than 20 days during a school year.

Can my child receive instruction in classes beyond English, math, science, and social studies?

Considerations shall be given to the individual need for services beyond the core academic subjects for students with disabilities.