Address

14 Maple Street
P.O. Box 841
Belchertown MA 01007

Phone

413-323-0423
Home 5 Homebound / Hospital

Home/hospital instruction is a regular education service and is not considered “special education” unless a student has already been found eligible for special education services.  By law, students are expected to attend school to the fullest extent possible, but home or hospital instruction may be provided to students who are unable to attend classes for 14 or more school days due to physical, medical, or severe emotional reasons which result in the student being confined to the home or hospital. The purpose of home or hospital instruction is to provide students confined to home or hospital settings with the opportunity to make educational progress and minimize the amount of educational loss that may occur when a student is unable to attend school. 

For the Belchertown Public School district to provide home or hospital services, the student’s physician must complete the Licensed Physician/Psychiatrist Statement and Medical Referral Form and provide specific information regarding:

  • The date the student was confined to home
  • The medical reason(s) for the confinement
  • The expected duration of the confinement
  • What medical needs of the student should be considered in planning the home educational services

Once the required physician signed documentation identifying the need for home or hospital instruction is received in the Student Support Services Office, tutoring services will be coordinated for the student and scheduled to begin without undue delay.

In some cases, students may have a chronic illness in which recurring home/hospital stays of less than 14 consecutive school days add up to (or are expected to add up to) more than 14 school days in a school year.  In these instances, physicians can still request home/hospital instruction by providing the request in writing and providing the necessary documentation of the medical need as described in the paragraph above. 

All requests for home/hospital instruction must go through the building principal. Once appropriate paperwork is received by the building principal and a student qualifies for home/hospital services, all information will be forwarded to Student Support Services. 

For more information Hombound/Hospital, please click the link below.

Massachusetts DESE Question and Answer Guide on the Implementation of Educational Services in the Home or Hospital

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