Educational Stability

The District's educational stability priorities help to ensure that children and youth who are homeless, in foster care, migrant, or in military families have full access to consistent public education, or for the provision of Home or Hospital educational services for students who must remain  in home or hospital for medical reasons. 

MCKINNEY-VENTO HOMELESS EDUCATION PROGRAM

The WRSD works to ensure the enrollment, attendance and the opportunity to succeed in school for homeless children and youth. The District collaborates with other state agencies and community providers to support homeless families and their students.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento Act) ensures homeless children and youth have equal access to the same free and appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as provided to other children and youths.  Guided by the McKinney-Vento Act, “homeless children and youths” as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. The term covers the following:

• Children and youths who are 

  • sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason (sometimes referred to as “doubled-up”);

  • living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations;

  • living in emergency or transitional shelters; or - abandoned in hospitals;

• Children and youth who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;

• Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and

• Migratory children qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described above.

If your family lives in any of the following situations:

• In a shelter, motel, or campground

• on the street

• In an abandoned building, trailer, or other inadequate accommodation, or

• Doubled-up with friends or relatives because you cannot find affordable housing

Then your preschool-aged and school-aged children have certain rights or protections under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

Students identified as meeting the definition of homeless have the right to:

• To go to school, no matter where they live or how  long they have lived there.  They must be given access to the same public education, including pre-school education, provided to other children. 

• To stay in their original or last school even if they move to another district.  Students in non-permanent housing have the right to stay in the school they attended prior  to the loss of housing, or to remain in the school they were last enrolled, unless the parent or unaccompanied youth chooses otherwise.  This is called the “school of origin”.

• To be transported to their original school.

• School districts must arrange transportation for students in homeless situations so that students can stay at their school of origin, even if students move to a different city, county or school district.

• To immediately enroll in a new school.

• Homeless students who move and wish to enroll in a new school where they are situated while homeless may attend classes immediately, without proof of residency, immunizations, school records or other papers, and without a uniform.

• To automatically receive free breakfast and lunch at school.

• A shelter worker or parent may contact the school to verify the child’s homelessness.  The school must immediately begin providing meals based on verification

If you believe your children may be eligible, contact the District's Homeless Student Education Liaison to find out what services and supports may be available. There may also be supports available for your preschool-age children.

WRSD Policy P6122A: Homelessness

STUDENTS IN FOSTER CARE

The WRSD works to ensure the enrollment, attendance and opportunity to succeed in school for children and youth in foster care. We collaborate with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) to implement the provisions for providing educational stability for students in foster care, as outlined in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

For children and youth in foster care, a change in home placement frequently results in a change in school placement. The educational impact of every school change is significant. Each time students enter new schools, they must adjust to different curricula, different expectations, new friends, and new teachers. Keeping children in the same school:

• provides continuity in education;

• maintains important relationships at school;

• provides stability during a traumatic time for the children; and

• improves educational and life outcomes.

Title I, Part A provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) ensures school stability for students in foster care and require child welfare agencies (i.e., Department of Children and Families) to coordinate with local educational agencies (school districts) to ensure educational stability for every child in foster care. 

WRSD Policy P6123A: Educational Opportunities for Children in Foster Care

MIGRANT EDUCATION PROGRAM

As a result of the passage of the Valor Act of 2012, Massachusetts became a member of the Military Interstate Children's Compact Commission or MIC3. In accordance with the Valor Act and MIC3, the WRSD is committed to provide support and assistance to the students of active duty military families. We work to ensure the timely enrollment and graduation of this mobile population.

MILITARY INTERSTATE CHILDREN'S COMPACT COMMISSION (MIC3)

Frequent moves, family separations through deployments, and reintegration following deployments can make school, home, and community-life challenging for military children. Yet, even in such circumstances, these students continually demonstrate resilience and perseverance. Their contributions to our schools and communities include unique and valuable perspectives on learning, friendship, and growing up.

In accordance with the Valor Act of 2012, which established Massachusetts as a member of the MIC3, the District is committed to provide support and assistance to the students of active duty military families to ensure the timely enrollment and graduation of this mobile population.

WRSD is here to provide resources and support for military service children and their families during all stages of transition and deployment.

WRSD Policy P6124A: Educational Opportunities for Military Children

HOME/HOSPITAL EDUCATION - 603 CMR 28.03(3)(c)

The regulation on educational services in the home or hospital is intended to ensure that a student  who is receiving a publicly funded education  and who, when determined by a physician, is physically unable to attend school is provided with the opportunity to make educational progress.

The Massachusetts regulation requiring educational services in the home or hospital is 603 CMR 28.03(3)(c). It reads as follows:

Upon receipt of a physician's written order verifying that any student enrolled in a public school or placed by the public school in a private setting must remain at home or in a hospital on a day or overnight basis, or any combination of both, for medical reasons and for a period of not less than fourteen school days in any school year, the principal shall arrange for provision of educational services in the home or hospital. Such services shall be provided with sufficient frequency to allow the student to continue his or her educational program, as long as such services do not interfere with the medical needs of the student. The principal shall coordinate such services with the Administrator for Special Education for eligible students. Such educational services shall not be considered special education unless the student has been determined eligible for such services, and the services include services on the student's IEP.

Although the regulation on home/hospital instruction is included in the Special Education Regulations (603 CMR 28.00), home/hospital instruction is not considered "special education" unless the student has been found eligible for special education. In other words, home/hospital instruction typically is considered a regular education service, since it is in the interest of both the individual student and the school to make it possible for the student to keep up with schoolwork while s/he is unable to attend school for medical reasons.

Home/Hospital Tutoring Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Who is entitled to educational services in the home or hospital?

A public school student who, due to documented medical reasons, is confined to home or a hospital for not less than fourteen (14) school days during the school year, is entitled to receive home/hospital educational services as described under 603 CMR 28.03(3)(c). In this context "public school student" means a student who is enrolled in a public school district or a student who is being educated with public funds in an educational collaborative or an approved private day or residential special education school. The requirement for a school district to provide home/hospital instruction to a public school student who is being educated at public expense is not dependent upon the student's eligibility for special education.

2. How can home or hospital education services be accessed in the Wachusett Regional School District?

Once the student's personal physician (I.e., a pediatrician, internist, medical specialist, psychiatrist or nurse practitioner who is personally responsible for the student's care) determines that a student's medical condition will require either hospitalization or home care for not less than 14 school days, the physician must notify the school district responsible for the student in order to begin the home/hospital instruction process. The student's physician does this by completing a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education form 28R/3 (or equivalent signed statement)  and submit it to the WRSD Home/Hospital Education Coordinator (HHEC) or building principal (who will contact the HHEC).  At a minimum the physician's signed notice must include information regarding:

• the date the student was admitted to a hospital or was confined to home;

• the medical reason(s) for the confinement;

• the expected duration of the confinement; and

• what medical needs of the student should be considered in planning the home or hospital education services.

3. How will home/hospital services be delivered?

While it is impossible to replicate the total school experience through the provision of home/hospital instruction, the District will provide, at a minimum, the instruction necessary to enable the student to keep up in his/her courses of study and minimize the educational loss that might occur during the period the student is confined at home or in a hospital. 

Home/hospital instruction is typically one-to-one or small group instruction that is provided on an individualized schedule, for less than a full school day or a full school week. The school district will determine the number of instructional hours per day or per week based on the educational and medical needs of the individual student. There is no preset the number of instructional hours per week provided to students who must remain at home or in the hospital; the decision is individualized.  The District may provide home/hospital services in a number of ways, as determined by the District, including:

• providing the services directly to the student using district employees;

• contracting with the hospital to provide the needed services;

• contracting with another school district to provide the services;

• contracting with another agency to provide the services; or

• providing the services via live streaming and/or remote instruction.

4. Is the academic content of instruction and the certification of staff any different for home/hospital Instruction than for school-based instruction?

Instruction that is provided in the home or hospital for public school students under 603 CMR 28.03(3)(c) must include the same academic content as that provided in the student's regular school-based program. While teacher certification requirements apply to the teachers who are providing the instruction, the teachers do not have to be certified in all subject areas. However, in all cases the school district must be able to demonstrate that the assigned staff member effectively provides the necessary instruction to the student. Teachers who provide home/hospital instruction to public school students must coordinate the instructional content, approach and student progress with the student's teachers at school.

5. Who can I contact if I have any questions regarding home/hospital instruction in the Wachusett Regional School District?

Maria Letasz, Ed.D., LMHC
Home/Hospital Education Coordinator

Foster Care Point of Contact

McKinney-Vento Homeless Student Education Liaison

Email: maria_letasz@wrsd.net or phone: 508-829-1670 ext. 253