E.L. Haynes Home or Hospital Instruction Policy
2023-2024 School Year
The E.L. Haynes Public Charter School Home or Hospital Instruction Policy aims to provide academic instruction and support to students who have been or will be absent from school for ten or more consecutive or cumulative school days during a school year due to a health condition. 1 The ELH PCS Home or Hospital Instruction program is designed to promote student academic progress, provide academic instruction in core subjects and special education and related services when applicable to the greatest extent possible, foster coordination between the student’s classroom teachers and the home or hospital instructors, and facilitate the rapid reintegration into classroom instruction when the student returns to school.
LEA Designee (E.L. Haynes has designated the following individuals to manage E.L. Hayne’s Home and and Hospital Instruction program):
Melissa Beasley
Health and Wellness Director
(202) 276-7431
mbeasley@elhaynes.org
Eligibility for Home or Hospital Instruction
Any ELH PCS student who has been or is anticipated to be absent from school, on a continuous, partial, or intermittent basis, for ten or more consecutive or cumulative school days during a school year due to a health condition may be eligible for home or hospital instruction. The following steps must be taken before home or hospital instruction is provided:
- A parent/guardian or adult student must request home or hospital instruction. This request may be written or oral and must be submitted to Health and Wellness Director Melissa Beasley.
- Upon receipt of a home or hospital instruction request, E.L. Haynes will document and acknowledge the request within two school days and provide the parent with information on how to submit an application.
- Suppose the student has a known or suspected disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (“Section 504”) or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). In that case, the acknowledgment will include a notice of the parent/student’s rights under the IDEA or Section 504.
- The parent must submit a completed home or hospital instruction application, including a completed Medical Certification of Need and a signed Parent Agreement for Home or Hospital Instruction. The application must include:
- The student’s name and date of birth;
- The name of the LEA the student is enrolled in and the name of the student’s current school of attendance;
- The parent’s name, address, phone number, and email address;
- A medical certification of need;
- The requested start date and duration of home or hospital instruction services;
- The consent of the parent for disclosure of information contained in or related to the medical certification of need; and,
- The parent’s signature.
- Within five calendar days of receiving the medical certification of need and parent agreement for home or hospital instruction, E.L. Haynes will issue a written decision approving or denying the request and explaining the basis for that decision;
- A request will only be denied if the medical certification of need is missing or incomplete;
- If a request is denied, the written explanation will state expressly that the basis for the determination was a missing or incomplete application or medical certification of need;
- If a request is denied, E.L. Haynes will include how the parent may appeal that decision in the written decision.
- If a request is approved, the written decision will include a written plan for the delivery of instruction that consists of the service delivery location, identification of virtual and/or in-person service delivery as the method of service, identification of the number of hours per week of direct instruction for eligible students according to the medical certification of need, and the schedule for service delivery.
Medical Certification of Need
The medical certification of need must be signed by a licensed physician, licensed nurse practitioner, licensed clinical psychologist, licensed mental health counselor or therapist, or physician’s assistant and must include the following:
- The signatory’s license number;
- Diagnosed health condition and explanation of how the health condition has caused or is anticipated to cause them to be unable to attend in-school instruction, on a continuous, partial, or intermittent basis, at the student’s school of enrollment or attendance for 10 or more consecutive or cumulative school days during a school year;
- Recommendation that student receive home or hospital instruction to the extent permitted by the student’s health condition;
- Recommended start date for services;
- Whether there is a maximum number of direct instructional hours that the student may receive per week based on the student’s health condition;
- Anticipated duration and frequency of the student’s health condition and need for home or hospital instruction; and,
- Whether the student’s health condition is anticipated to cause continuous, partial, or intermittent absence from school.
While home or hospital instruction is provided, ELH PCS may request updated information about the student’s continued medical need and work with the parent to develop a plan to permit the student to return to school.
Medical Recertification of Need
The medical recertification of need must be signed by a licensed physician, licensed nurse practitioner, licensed clinical psychologist, licensed mental health counselor or therapist, or physician’s assistant and must include the following:
- The signatory’s license number;
- Verification of the continued need for home or hospital instruction and whether the student requires instruction in a home or hospital;
- Whether there is a maximum number of direct instructional hours that the student may receive per week based on the student’s health condition; and,
- Anticipated duration and frequency of the student’s health condition.
Duration of Home or Hospital Instruction
Approval of home or hospital instruction requests is expected to last at most 60 calendar days or the duration estimated in the medical certification of need, whichever is less. A parent may request to extend the program for up to 60 calendar days by submitting a medical recertification of need at least five calendar days before the date the parent desires for the extension to begin.
Proposed Accommodation to Allow Students to Remain in School
Before or after a request for home or hospital instruction is granted, ELH PCS may propose accommodations to allow the student to remain in school but will only proceed with such accommodations if the medical professional that signed the medical certification of need agrees in writing that such accommodations meet the medical needs of the student and permit in-school instruction.
Delivery of Instruction
Home or hospital instruction will begin within five school days of the request’s approval. Instruction will be provided in core academic subjects to the greatest extent possible. Special education and related services will also be provided to the greatest extent possible following an IEP or Section 504 Plan.
A home or hospital instructor will provide in-person instruction unless the parent consents to virtual instruction via real-time videoconferencing or asynchronous learning. Education may be provided virtually without a parent’s consent in the following circumstances:
- During a public health emergency;
- When the student has been diagnosed with an infectious disease;
- When a household member has been diagnosed with an infectious disease, if the student is to receive instruction at home;
- When ELH PCS determines safety, concerns prevent the delivery of in-person services; or,
- When the student receives medical treatment outside of the District of Columbia.
Home or hospital instruction will include a minimum number of hours per week of direct instruction for an approved student based on the medical certification or recertification of need. Additional instruction, special education, and/or related services will be individualized based on student needs, the student’s schedule, and the amount of in-school instruction the student is expected to receive.
Unless the parent and instructor agree otherwise, instruction will be provided during regular school hours at times determined by E.L. Haynes. Failure of students to attend or participate in scheduled sessions will not result in additional time allotted or make-up sessions.
If instruction occurs in the home, the student’s parent/guardian is responsible for being home during the entirety of the instructional period. The parent/guardian must be 18 years of age or older. A quiet, designated space must be provided for instruction to occur.
Attendance records will be maintained for students receiving home or hospital instruction. During home or hospital instruction, the student will be counted as medically excused, except when the student is not available for home or hospital instruction, in which case the student may be counted absent.
A regular program of study and preparation of lessons and materials by their teachers is required for each student. E.L. Haynes will provide content aligned to that being provided in the student’s classroom at their school of attendance, including, without limitation, a nonpublic special education day school or residential facility. Substitute assignments may be provided if regular assignments or activities cannot occur outside the classroom. In addition to the weekly instructional sessions, the student is expected to complete assignments on his or her own time. Assignments must be completed by the designated due date and are returned to the school for grading. Failure to complete or turn in assignments on time will result in zeros for those assignments and will be reflected in the grade accordingly. Grades earned during hospital and homebound instruction will be added to any current grades and calculated towards the final grade for the quarter/year. For all content not covered through home or hospital instruction, the student will be given alternative assignments for credit recovery. E.L. Haynes will work with the hospital to coordinate appropriate services for hospitalized students. Suppose a student with a disability is found eligible for home or hospital instruction. In that case, the responsibilities for planning, implementing, and monitoring the academic program remain with the student’s IEP or 504 team
Students with Disabilities Under the IDEA
Nothing in this policy shall be construed to supersede the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.) concerning an LEA’s obligation to determine the educational placement in the least restrictive environment for a student with a disability under the IDEA.
When a parent makes a request for home or hospital instruction for a student who is suspected of being or is eligible for special education services under the IDEA, the LEA shall:
- (a) Provide the parent with notice of the procedural safeguards under the IDEA defined by 34 CFR § 300.504 and
- (b) Consider whether the request for home or hospital instruction could impact the student’s educational placement in the least restrictive environment, and if so, convene a placement determination team to review and revise the educational placement of the student as appropriate, and to review and revise the student’s IEP, as appropriate.
Suppose an LEA convenes a placement determination team to review whether the educational placement of a student with a disability should be changed. In that case, the determination and eligibility for home or hospital instruction shall be governed by the IDEA and any applicable District law or regulation governing IDEA rather than the standards in this chapter.
If a student with a disability is placed in the home or hospital instruction per the IDEA, the provision and duration of services shall be governed by the IDEA and any applicable District law or regulation governing IDEA rather than the standards in this chapter
[1] “Health condition” means a physical or mental illness, injury, or impairment that prevents a student from participating in the day-to-day activities typically expected during school attendance.