Home and Hospital Program FAQ

What is Home and Hospital?

The Home and Hospital program is designed to provide instructional services to students who are unable to attend their regular school due to physical or emotional illness. It is a short-term itinerant instructional service mandated by state law with specific guidelines for implementation and delivery. The Home and Hospital program in concert with the student’s home school works to ensure continuity in instructional services while the student is out of school.

Who is eligible for Home and Hospital Services?

Any Wicomico County student who is unable to attend school due to a certified physical or emotional condition is eligible for services. Home and Hospital teaching is provided to a student who is hospitalized or convalescing at home.

Why is Home and Hospital Teaching Provided?

Home and Hospital teaching is provided to enable the student to continue academic work and remain current with classroom instruction while absent from school. Home and Hospital teaching can also provide a transitional educational service before a student returns to a regular school setting.

What is the difference between Home and Hospital and Home Schooling?

Home Schooling is a school program administered at home by the student’s parent or guardian. The student on Home Schooling is not enrolled in a Wicomico County school. Home and Hospital is a temporary service available to any student currently enrolled in a Wicomico County public school who is unable to attend his/her school due to a physical or emotional condition.

Who gives the Home and Hospital student a grade?

Grades will be awarded by the Home and Hospital instructor for work complete while the student is in the program. These grades are to be averaged proportionately with the grades the student earned while attending their regular school.

Why does it take so long for a student to get on the program?

The length of time depends on how long it takes the parent, the doctor, and the school Home and Hospital representative to accurately complete and submit the required referral forms to the Home and Hospital coordinator.

Home and Hospital Teaching

Title 13A
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Subtitle 03 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS
Chapter 05 Administration of Home and Hospital Teaching for Students
Authority: Education Article, 2-205, 6-704, 7-101, 7-301, and 8-403,
Annotated Code of Maryland

.01 Scope.
  • These regulations, which establish a minimum requirement, apply to the provision of instructional services to public school students who are unable to participate in their school of enrollment due to a physical or emotional condition.
  • In implementing these regulations, all school systems shall comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, and ß504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as appropriate.
  • Concurrent delivery of instructional services and enrollment in public school shall be provided for a student whose physical condition requires the student to be absent from school on an intermittent basis. These conditions include but are not limited to, kidney failure, cancer, asthma, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell anemia.
  • Instructional services shall be provided to an identified student with disabilities in accordance with federal and State special education law and regulations, including COMAR 13A.05.01. The student and parents shall be involved in the process and are entitled to all rights and due process procedures included within these laws and regulations.
  • Excluded from these regulations are the home-based programs operated through the Office for Children, Youth, and Families and the Maryland Infants and Toddlers Program for the birth through 2-year-old disabled population and Home Instruction as defined in COMAR 13A.10.01.01.
.02 Definitions.
  • In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated
  • Terms Defined.
    • “Local school system” means the public school system in which the student is enrolled, or for an identified student with disabilities, the public school system that has responsibility for the education of the student.
    • “Therapeutic treatment center” means any day or residential facility, licensed by a unit of State government, providing treatment for medical, physical, or emotional conditions including drug or alcohol dependency, or both.
.03 Responsibilities of Local School Systems.
  • Nature.
    • Each local school system shall make instructional services available to students who are unable to participate in their school of enrollment for those reasons set forth in this chapter. In making instructional services available, local school systems shall consult with the parent, guardian, student, psychologist, and physician, as appropriate.
    • Instructional services, as outlined in this chapter, shall be available to all students during convalescence or treatment time in a medical institution, or therapeutic treatment center, and at the student’s place of residence, or all of these.
  • Service Delivery.
    • Each local school system shall:
      • Determine the manner in which instructional services shall be delivered to a student;
      • Develop safety procedures, including training, to ensure an appropriately supervised safe environment for teachers and students; and
      • Develop a review process to resolve any disagreement that arises in the implementation of this chapter.
    • Beginning July, 2001, instructional services as outlined in this chapter shall be delivered by an individual possessing a minimum of a bachelor’s degree from an institution of higher education as defined in COMAR 13A.12.01.02B.