A school district, area vocational technical school, charter school, independent school, private school or non-public school may temporarily excuse a student from compulsory attendance on account of illness or other urgent reasons and provide that student homebound instruction while he or she is excused from school. Regulations require that the term "urgent reasons" be strictly construed not to permit irregular attendance at school. See 22 Pa Code § 11.25 in the Laws and Regulations section.
If a public school entity does provide homebound instruction and seeks to extend the duration of that instruction for a particular student beyond a three-month period, the extension requires the approval of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE).
Any excusal from compulsory attendance must be reevaluated, at minimum, every three months. A school district may have a policy that requires more frequent evaluations.
School districts must have written policies regarding attendance, admission, excusal and program procedures. These must be distributed yearly to parents. See 22 Pa Code § 11.41.
Nonattendance With Homebound Instruction Provided
The purpose of homebound instruction is to keep students on track academically while the student is temporarily out of school. Homebound instruction is school-supplied one-to-one tutoring for a limited time. These students are counted in both the school membership* and school attendance**. See 22 Pa Code § 11.25(b).
A district may provide homebound instruction for the initial three months of excusal without consulting PDE. Following the initial three months, the district must obtain the approval of PDE to extend homebound instruction.
Nonattendance Without the Provision of Homebound Instruction
If a condition exists which prevents a child from the ability to benefit from study, the student may be entered into the inactive roll with the PDE's approval until such a time as the student may benefit from study. See 24 P.S. § 13-1329 and 22 Pa Code § 11.34.
School Initiated. A school district may excuse a school age child from compulsory school attendance upon recommendation of the school physician and a psychiatrist or public school psychologist, or both, and with the approval of PDE. Prior to seeking excusal and approval, the school district must provide the child's parents with written notice of both the proposed excusal, including the reasons for the excusal, and an opportunity to be heard. See 22 Pa Code § 11.34 and 24 P.S. § 13-1330(2). Children so excused are entered on the inactive roll. ***
Other In-Home Instruction That Is Not Designated As Homebound Instruction
There are a number of educational options that sometimes are referred to as "homebound instruction" although they do not fit the legal definition of homebound instruction. The following are NOT categorized as "homebound instruction"
- Instruction conducted in the home: for special education students for whom an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) team determines that the instruction of the student is to be conducted in the home; students are counted in both the school membership and school attendance; this is not homebound instruction
- Home Education Programs ("homeschooling"): usually taught at home by a parent (referred to as the home education supervisor); students are not counted in either the membership or school attendance; this is not homebound instruction
- Home study: for expelled students or students awaiting placement; students are counted in the membership but not the school attendance; this is not homebound instruction
*Membership: student is on the attendance roles, whether or not he or she physically is present on any given day
**Attendance: days when a "member" student is counted as present in school
***Inactive Roll: student is not counted in either membership or attendance
For additional information, please contact: RA-homebound@pa.gov
Pregnant and Parenting Students
Students who are excused due to illness or other urgent reasons may be provided with homebound instruction. Becoming pregnant or being a parent does not, in itself, necessitate that a student receive homebound instruction. Certification of a physician is required for any students, including pregnant or parenting students, who are requesting homebound instruction because of an illness or other urgent reason.
For suggested guidelines of attendance involving a pregnant or parenting student, see the Pregnant and Parenting Students BEC.
Private and Nonpublic Schools
If the private or non-public school does not provide homebound instruction, the family may consider withdrawing their child from the private or non-public school to enroll them in the public school where they can obtain homebound instruction. There may be contracts between the family and the private or non-public school that would require the family to continue to pay for services that were under contract; this is the responsibility of the family to determine.
When a family withdraws their child from the private or non-public school and enrolls them in the public school, the school district will proceed with the newly-enrolled student according to their policy on homebound instruction.
If the private or non-public school disenrolls a student because the student is not able to participate in instruction, or a parent withdraws their child from the school, the private or non-public school must report these actions to the superintendent of the student's district of residence. See 24 P.S. § 13-1332 on the Laws and Regulations webpage.
Audits
School districts may be audited for their provision of homebound instruction. Information that should be available for the audit includes:
- The documentation from the appropriately licensed practitioner substantiating the need for homebound instruction
- The listing of the students on homebound instruction and the total amount of time for each student in homebound instruction.
Generally, it is convenient to aggregate the records for homebound instruction into a single document for audit purposes. For the district's convenience, PDE provides a sample form.
Alternatives to Homebound Instruction
A family may decide to pursue a different educational option such as a cyber charter school, private tutoring or a home education program. In this case, the family must withdraw their child from the current public school in which the student is enrolled.
Cyber charter schools are online public schools that provide online instruction to students in the student's home without cost to the family. Due to the time and effort to enroll in a cyber charter school, this is for long-term solutions where the student is expected to be out for months.
A list of cyber charter school can be found on the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) website at the following link: Cyber Charter Schools.
Home education programs and private tutoring are covered extensively on their own webpages. See Home Education and Private Tutoring.