The provisions of this Section apply to any student who has
not been identified as eligible for special education services, in accordance
with 23 Ill. Adm. Code 226 (Special Education), and who receives services at
home or in a hospital or other setting because he or she is unable to attend
school elsewhere due to a medical condition, and for which the resident school
district is seeking reimbursement under Section 14-13.01(a) of the School Code
[105 ILCS
5/14-13.01(a) ]. Requirements
pertaining to home and hospital instruction for students with disabilities
shall be as set forth in 23 Ill. Adm. Code
226.300 (Continuum of Placement
Options).
a) When a student has a
medical condition that will cause an absence for two or more consecutive weeks
(i.e., 10 school days) of school or ongoing intermittent absences, as defined
in Section 14-13.01(a) of the School Code, the school district for that child
shall consider the need for home or hospital services. The provision of home or
hospital services shall be based upon a written statement from a physician
licensed to practice medicine in all its branches that specifies:
1) the child's medical condition;
2) the impact on the child's ability to
participate in education (the child's physical and mental level of tolerance
for receiving educational services); and
3) the anticipated duration or nature of the
child's absence from school.
b) The amount of instructional or related
service time provided through the home or hospital program shall be determined
in relation to the child's educational needs and physical and mental health
needs. The amount of instructional time shall not be less than five hours per
week unless the physician has certified in writing that the child should not
receive as many as five hours of instruction in a school week. In the event
that the child's illness or a teacher's absence reduces the number of hours in
a given week to which the child is entitled, the school district shall work
with the child's teachers and the child's parents to provide the number of
hours missed, as medically advisable for the child.
c) A child whose home or hospital instruction
is being provided via telephone or other technological device shall receive not
less than two hours per week of direct instructional services.
d) Instructional time shall be scheduled only
on days when school is regularly in session, unless otherwise agreed to by all
parties.
e) For the purpose of
determining average daily attendance, school districts shall calculate days of
attendance for hospitalized or homebound students in accordance with the
provisions of Section 18-8.05(F)(2)(e) of the School Code.
f) Home or hospital instructors shall meet
the requirements of 23 Ill. Adm. Code
1.610 (Personnel Required to be
Qualified), except that the use of an individual who holds only a substitute
teaching license is permissible if the individual provides instruction under
the supervision of an individual who holds a professional educator license
endorsed in a teaching field and is the teacher in whose class the student is
enrolled. A school district using the services of a substitute teacher for home
or hospital instruction pursuant to this subsection (f), however, is not
eligible for reimbursement under Section 14-13.01 of the School Code.
g) A school district is not obligated to
provide home and hospital instruction when the referral for the services is
presented when two weeks or less remains in the school year.
h) Homebound instruction shall be provided
for students who are pregnant according to the provisions set forth in Section
10-22.6a of the School Code.
