Home and Hospital

Home and Hospital

The purpose of Home and Hospital (HH) instruction is to help students maintain continuity of instruction during a temporary, short-term disability.  Any student with a temporary, short-term disability that makes attendance in regular school or an alternative education program impossible or inadvisable must receive individual instruction provided by the student’s school district (Education Code 58206.3[b][2]).

A temporary disability is a temporary physical, mental or emotional disability incurred while a pupil is enrolled in regular day classes or an alternative education program.  The student will be expected to return to regular day classes or an alternative education program without special intervention pursuant to Education Code 56026 (Education Code 48206.3).

Examples of temporary, short-term disabilities include, but are not limited to: broken limbs, hand injuries, or short term impairments following surgery or medical treatments.

Basics of Home and Hospital

Eligibility

• Student must be a Turlock USD resident, or Inter-district permitted student, and enrolled in grades TK-12.
• Student has an anticipated absence from regular school of from 3-12 weeks from the submission of the Request for Home Teacher due to a temporary, short-term disability.
• The licensed physician verifies in writing the student’s diagnosis and need for HH services.  Please note that just because a physician recommends/requests HH services, this does not mean that the district will automatically provide HH services.  Provision of Home and Hospital services is at the discretion of the school district.
• The referring physician must be responsible for continuing treatment and service while the student is out of regular school.

Referral Process

Parents request the Home and Hospital (HH) instruction by completing the Home and Hospital Request Form. The Request form must be completely filled out by the doctor in order to be considered, and must include the diagnosis and the length of time the student is anticipated to be unable to attend school.  Many students with temporary health problems may still be able to attend regular school with modifications.  The modifications are determined through planning sessions with the family, counselor, and other school officials.  In some cases, a temporary modification of the school schedule is sufficient to accommodate the student’s needs, and home instruction is not necessary. 

Continuation of Home and Hospital services is always subject to review by the district and must be authorized by the student’s physician.

Service Options

An eligible student for Home and Hospital receive 300 minutes of instruction per week by a credentialed teacher, (equal to one hour per day per week).  It is the responsibility of the parent to be present in the home while the HH teacher is present or other family adult 21 years old and over.  It is also the parent/guardian’s responsibility to provide a quiet, appropriate learning environment for Home and Hospital instruction in the home or other agreed upon location.  When the physician determines the student may return to regular school, the physician authorization must indicate the level of activity in addition to the limitations or instructions regarding the student’s care at regular school.

Special Education

Special Education students are required to have an updated IEP which stipulates Home and Hospital instruction which shall be submitted to Student Services with the referral application.

The site administration and program specialist shall select a teacher with the appropriate credentials to work with the student prior to submitting the referral application to Student Services.

Additional Information

• The school site administrator shall select a teacher prior to submitting the referral to student services.
• The Request for Home Teacher completed by parents/guardian and the doctor must clearly state that the student requires home teaching and must have a return to school date of between 3-12 weeks from the date of the form/letter.
• Upon receipt of the Home and Hospital Referral form, an email will be sent to the site attendance person, the Home Teacher, the parent/guardian, the site administrator, and all of the student's teachers. This email lists the beginning date of home teaching and the date of the student's return to school.
• When the student returns from HH, the school administrator is requested to schedule a transition meeting with the student to go over return-to-school restrictions, expectations, and any other needs the student may have.