Two Pennsylvania departments of Education and Public Welfare have issued joint policies to ensure that children in “Non-educational” residential placements will attend the regular public school where they reside, unless there is legal reason why they should not. Non-educational placements includes all placements to a residential setting that are not made by the child’s school.

The Issue

When children are placed outside of their home for a variety of reasons, the state is committed to making that placement as effective and healthy as possible. Many residential facilities have developed on site schools to serve the children living there. Such segregated settings are considered restrictive and limiting. This policy reinforces that children will attend the local school district where they reside, unless there is a court order or it is unwise for the children or improper.  Such a decision can not be substituted for appropriate special education planning and programming.

This policy restates the previous regulatory policies of both departments. However, to reinforce the seriousness of their commitment, the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Department of Public Welfare have committed to avoiding the use of private providers that insist on “bundling” educational and non-educational services. This means they will exclude a provider from the approved provider pool of a specific program, including the Medical Assistance Program.

Requirements for Non-Educational Placements

Host School Responsibilities

1.  The host district is responsible for educating the child, including providing for all special education needs. (The host district is the where the child is residing, not the family.)

2.  The host school district must enroll the child within five (5) days and request records from the prior district within ten (10) days.

3.  The home and host districts must be prepared to work with families and County Mental Health and Mental Retardation, Children and Youth agencies, and Juvenile Probation Offices, as well as the private providers in order to arrive promptly at a sound educational decision. (per PA Act 16)

4.  Special education or services and accommodations must be provided consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and §504 of the Rehabilitation Act and 22 PA Code Chapters 14 and 15.

Residential Facility Responsibilities

  1. The child’s educational placement must be considered when making residential placement decisions regarding the child.
  2. Services cannot be “bundled”.  That means that a child can not be required to attend an on-site educational program as part of the admission to that facility.
  3. The residential facility must notify the host school district (where facility is located) and the resident school district (where family lives) of a child’s change in placement no later than one (1) business day after admission.
  4. The residential facility should notify the host and the resident school district at least two (2) weeks prior to the anticipated discharge date for the child.

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