When a special education student is placed on Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home, the local education agency (LEA) must report the student’s status to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) via the Special Education Students at Home website.  Please note that PIMS reporting of students receiving Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home does NOT fulfill this additional court-ordered requirement.

Timely reporting of such students is required by PDE to meet its obligations of Intensive Interagency (also referred to as the Cordero Court Order).  When a student is reported, regional interagency coordinators:

• Review each student report and contact the LEA in cases where interagency support may be needed to address student need (e.g., students who have behavioral health needs that are the reason for Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home placement); and
• Collaborate with Intermediate Unit interagency coordinators to support the LEA in connecting families with other county-level child-serving agencies and in collaborating with such agencies.

This reporting also helps PDE to build capacity to meet the needs of all students with disabilities who require services from agencies outside of the educational system.

While this reporting requirement applies to both Homebound Instruction and Instruction Conducted in the Home, it is important to understand the distinctions between the two arrangements.  The most important difference is that Homebound Instruction is NOT a special education placement while Instruction Conducted in the Home is a placement made by an Individualized Education Program (IEP) team.  Formal definitions for each are below.

• Homebound Instruction is described in 22 PA Code § 11.25. Temporary excusals due to illness or other urgent reasons, “A principal or teacher may, upon receipt of satisfactory evidence of mental, physical or other urgent reasons, excuse a student for nonattendance during a temporary period, but the term ‘urgent reasons’ shall be strictly construed and does not permit irregular attendance.  An LEA shall adopt rules and procedures governing temporary excusals that may be granted by principals and teachers under this section”.
• Instruction Conducted in the Home is the most restrictive option on the continuum of special education placements for students with disabilities.  This placement is provided as a last resort when a student with disabilities requires that special education services and programs can only be conducted in the home or a mutually agreed upon location that is decided by the IEP team.  This educational placement team decision also requires a Notice of Recommended Educational Placement/Prior Written Notice.

Special Note: For students placed on Instruction Conducted in the Home, IEP teams may consider technological options such as web conferencing, distance learning, video conferencing, and virtual classrooms to connect students to the classroom and schools, when appropriate, to provide access to teachers and peers and provide additional participation and learning opportunities.

PROCEDURES FOR INITIAL REPORTING OF HOMEBOUND INSTRUCTION OR INSTRUCTION CONDUCTED IN THE HOME:

• Reports must be made within five (5) days of the placement.
• LEAs should use their Administrative Unit Number as the username to log into the website.  The password is identical to the one used to log into the Compliance Monitoring System on Leaderservices.com.  Instructions are listed on the webpage.
• Indicate if the student has a doctor’s excuse (certificate) for Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home.
• Include a brief description as to why the student is on Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home.

IMPORTANT PROCEDURES FOR FOLLOW-UP REPORTING:

• LEAs submitting follow-up reports for these records should do so via the website.  If a student returns to school, the date of their return should be recorded in the “When did student return to school?” field, then click Save.
• Indicate if the student is expected to be on Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home for longer than three months.
• Report the student to the Leader Services website if filing an extension using PDE 4675 Homebound Instruction form and PDE 4676 Request/Approval for Homebound Instruction form.
• Report “Day Student Returned to School,” including last day of school, if Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home lasted until the end of the school year.

PROCEDURES FOR EXTENDED REPORTING (POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE PLACEMENTS – INSTRUCTION CONDUCTED IN THE HOME):

• If the placement is being extended, provide a reason for the extension in the “Provide brief explanation why student is on Homebound or placed on Instruction Conducted in the Home” field and record the new anticipated return date in the “Extended Anticipated Length of Placement” field then click Save.
• The “Extended Anticipated Length of Placement” field may be updated as many times as necessary; however, it is requested that extensions are reported.

Additional information is also available on the following sites:

Pennsylvania Department of Education – Homebound Instruction

Pennsylvania Department of Education – Instruction Conducted in the Home Basic Education Circular

Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network – Intensive Interagency Coordination

Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network Publication – What is the difference between Homebound Instruction and Instruction Conducted in the Home?

Regional interagency coordinators at each Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network office are available for assistance:

Pittsburgh      Hillary Mangis                800.446.5607                             hmangis@pattan.net

East               Amy Smith                     800.441.3215                             asmith@pattan.net

Harrisburg     Roni Russell        800.360.7282 / 717.901.2262               rrussell@pattan.net

PDE’s Adviser/Single Point of Contact from the Bureau of Special Education assigned to your area can also assist you in the procedures for Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home.

If you have any questions concerning Homebound Instruction or Instruction Conducted in the Home, please contact Amy Deluca, Chief, Division of Monitoring and Improvement – West, at 717.736.2650 or amdeluca@pa.gov.