Homebound

The process for serving students in a homebound instructional arrangement begins with a referral to special education for homebound services. A parent, doctor, or other professional can make a referral to the school counselor for these services. The homebound referral is completed by the school counselor and the doctor is given the OHI/OI/TBI homebound eligibility form to complete. The above information is given to the diagnostician who schedules an ARD meeting to determine eligibility, IEP's, and placement. A homebound teacher will always be present at the ARD meeting.

When the ARD places a student on homebound, the homebound teacher assigned to the student contacts the parent to set up a schedule for the teacher to come to the home to instruct the student. Students on homebound will be given instruction in each subject approved by the ARD. The homebound teacher will be allowed the latitude to make assignments and give grades according to ARD committee decisions and the health condition of the student.

If a student is being considered for homebound services because of an emotional/psychological condition, then an Amarillo ISD Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP) will need to be present at the admission ARD.

When the physician determines that a student may return to school, the home school diagnostician schedules an ARD to return the student to school.

The homebound instructional setting is part of the district's full continuum of services available to eligible Special Education students.

Guidelines for ARD Committees Regarding Homebound Students and AP Classes

• If at all possible all AP teachers need to attend the ARD
• If at all possible the student's counselor should attend the ARD
• The homebound teacher who will teach the student should attend the ARD.
• ARD committee should determine whether the student can continue in the AP classes while on homebound. Because of the nature of the classes very few modifications can be made.
• The ARD should discuss the modifications that the student will need in order to be successful.  If these modifications change the content and intent of the AP class, the ARD should consider changing the student to a regular class. Each AP class should be discussed separately (in some cases) because the student may be able to continue some classes and not others. The ARD also needs to determine a time line for determining when the student would be moved from an AP class to a regular class if the homebound teacher and classroom teacher feel that the student is not going to be successful.
• Parents need to be made fully aware that the student may not be able to continue with AP classes on homebound.
• The ARD committee should decide how the classwork will be distributed to the student and exactly what will be required of the homebound teacher and the AP teacher if AP classes continue.
• The ARD committee should determine who grades the student's work and who gives the final grades. (i.e. homebound teacher or general education teacher)
• Modifications should be listed separately for the AP classes and regular classes.
• Diagnosticians should let classroom teachers (if not present in ARD) know how long the student is anticipated to be on homebound.

For students enrolled in dual credit classes:

• The ARD should make it clear that determining the status of continued dual credit with AC will be the responsibility of the parent and/or student establishing direct contact with AC personnel.
• The ARD should use the above determination for these classes as well but cannot change the requirements AC has for completion of the dual credit class.

Guidelines for Students with Chronic Illness 

Guidelines for instructing students who have a chronic illness which the ARD has determined the student will attend school when able and will be provided four hours of homebound instruction for every five instructional days of class time missed:

• First Option: the student's teacher or teachers provides the services
• Second Option: another teacher at the student's campus provides the service
• Third Option: a district teacher who is willing to provide services

When a classroom teacher is asked to work with a chronically ill student, the classroom teacher will:

• Be expected to contact and work with the student's regular teachers
• Provide instruction after school hours
• Keep an accurate time sheet that will be sent in at the end of each month with the regular payroll at the campus where he/she normally works
• Keep a log of the time spent instructing each student who is receiving chronic homebound services and will send this log to the Special Ed. secretary at the ESC for inclusion on PEIMS records

Please contact the Special Education secretary at the ESC for the necessary forms. 

Guidelines for ARD Committees Regarding Homebound Students and Foreign Language Classes

ARD committees will need to decide how the home campus will provide instruction in Foreign Language class. There may be times the ARD committee will need to decide to discontinue Foreign Language classes.